Invisible
by Kate27cat1
Summary: Sakura Haruno was bullied a lot during elementary, and due to that she has shut herself off from the world.  Can Gaara help her, or will he break the last remaining part of her spirit?
1. Back to School

**None of the characters are mine! They belong to Masashi Kishimoto! **This is my first fan fiction so don't be too harsh. I will update every Monday if I get reviews about this ;) Your recommendations and opinions are greatly valued.

These are the couples: Gaara & Sakura, Hinata & Naruto, TenTen & Neji, Temari & Shikamaru, and Kankuro & Konan. Everyone is 16, with the exception of Kankuro and Temari being 17.

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><p><em>Beep! Beep! Beep!<em>

A delicate hand reached out to turn off the alarm that said 6:00. A girl slowly climbed out of the pale green bed, and she began to put on a uniform. The uniform was from Fire High, one of the most prestigious schools in town. The girl quickly put it on, brushed her long pale pink hair out, and looked herself over in the mirror. She was always made fun of back in elementary school, and was only able to make one friend back in her elementary school days.

But, her old friend, Ino Yamanaka, had crushed her hopes when she too began to make fun of her along with her new boyfriend, Sasuke Uchiha. From that day on, Sakura vowed to never let anyone see her face ever again, and it was a pity. Sakura had hypnotizing emerald green eyes along with fluttering eyelashes, fair skin, and naturally dark pink lips. But, she never thought of herself as pretty, so she hid herself from the world with her bangs that covered most of her face except her lips.

Smoothing out her bangs, she left for her typical outcast life. Getting by with all A's, never talking to anyone other than teachers, and always sitting under the bleachers alone during break. But, even if she was an outcast she knew everything that happened at the school because everyone went to the bleachers to gossip. Yup, that was Sakura Haruno's everyday life in a nutshell, and everyday she got to school half an hour before school started. She did this to get a seat in the back of the class where no one would ever bother her. Sakura found the perfect seat and sat down, thinking about what she had heard last week. While she was sitting under the bleachers enjoying her dango, she heard Ino's group gossip about something very interesting.

* * *

><p><em><span>Flashback<span>_

"Hey, did you guys hear about those new kids that are supposed to be coming next week?" Ino said as she reapplied her lip-gloss.

"Heck yeah! I heard they were supposed to be really hot!" TenTen exclaimed as she was running her fingers through her long, wavy ebony hair.

"R-r-really? I h-heard that the younger brother is supposed to be r-r-really s-s-scary…" Hinata stuttered softly.

"Don't worry Hinata I'll definitely protect you. BELIEVE IT!" Naruto shouted as he slung one of his arms around Hinata, who had fainted from the slight contact. "Hey, Hinata, are you ok?"

"Dobe." Sasuke muttered as he pressed Ino to him making her squeak in delight.

"What did you just call me teme? I'll beat you up right here, right now!" Naruto jumped up and did his famous 'ninja' pose.

"Calm down Naruto. Everyone knows you couldn't handle the Uchiha." Neji stated matter of factly. Naruto sat down disgruntled, and as soon as he did the bell rang.

_End Of Flashback_

* * *

><p>'Well, I hope they won't bother me very much.' Sakura thought. The bell rang shortly after and everyone filed into class, taking a seat.<p>

"Alright class, settle down!" Iruka, the homeroom teacher, yelled over everyone's conversations. "We have some new students. So, please, welcome the Sabaku siblings." Three kids walked into the room. The first one was a girl had her sandy blond hair in four spikey ponytails along with the school uniform, but her uniform was cut with pins closing the slits here her skin would have been showing. She had deep green eyes.

"Yo, I'm Temari Subaku, and I hate prissy snobby girls like her!" She said as she directly pointed at Ino. This made said girl jump out of her seat.

"Iruka! Do something about her!" Ino shrilled.

"Well, let's go to the next sibling, shall we?" Iruka stated, trying to difuse the situation.

"Hey! I'm Kankuro. I'm into making puppets and I hate emo jerks like that guy." The boy with dark brown spikey hair and brown eyes with some type of purple paint on his face said nonchalantly, while pointing to Sasuke.

"Hn." Sasuke grumbled.

"I am Gaara, and I do not like people." A boy with red spikey hair stated. He had sea foam green eyes and a kanji tattoo of love on his forehead.

"Alright, now choose where you would like to sit." Iruka said. Temari took the seat next to the lazy class genius, Shikamaru. Kankuro took a seat next to Konan, the spunky rebel. Gaara sat next to Sakura, and stared at her in amazement. Usually, when his siblings go to a new school, he is ambushed with questions. He sat back in content.

'Maybe I should get to know her.' He thought.

After four periods, it was time to head out to lunch. Sakura got her bento and began to head out, until she got pushed by Ino.

"Hey billboard brow. I didn't see you there." Ino hissed with a devilish grin on her face. Sakura began to shiver, knowing this wouldn't be good, as Ino grabbed her by the hand and had TenTen push her along. Gaara wondered what was going on but decided to just let it pass.

"I-i-i really wish I c-could sit next to Sakura-chan the way y-you d-d-d-did." Hinata stuttered while staring up at Gaara.

"Why's that?"

"B-b-because I heard she used to be r-r-really nice a-and smile a lot, until middle school. I j-just really want to b-be her f-f-f-friend, but Ino hates her for some reason." The shy girl said staring down at the floor.

"Hm." Gaara grunted, wondering about this new girl that had sparked his interest. Then, he began to think about what Hinata said. "Shit." Gaara walked out of the room quickly with Hinata trailing behind.


	2. Good VS Evil

**None of the characters are mine! They belong to Masashi Kishimoto! **Reviews & suggestions are greatly accepted! Thank you to **BB'S-SHINIGAMI-KURA-HARUNO and Little-bad-Angel **for the ideas!

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><p>Gaara usually wouldn't care about a measly girl, but for some reason he found Sakura intriguing. He glanced over his shoulder to see this little mouse like girl following him.<p>

'She seems to be worried. They're probably friends.' He thought for a few moments.

"Um…." Hinata silently said.

"What is it?" Gaara said without looking at her.

"Well….. n-no…um….. I-I-I'll just h-have Sakura tell you.

"Hn"

'What's her deal?' Gaara thought.

'Oh like you should talk!' Shukaku mocked.

'Oh god, not you again!'

'He-he miss me?'

'No! Why would I ev-' Gaara stopped mid thought when Hinata began to tug on his arm. He stared in the direction she was looking at, and he began walking towards the music room. There was a crack in the door, so they peered in.

"Hahaha! Look at her, poor slug's crying!" Ino yelled while clutching Sakura's hair. TenTen had a mix of emotions on her face that ranged from apologetic to doubtful, while Neji was staring in disgust. Gaara became angered when Sasuke had a smirk on his face.

'Can I kill him?' Shukaku said overjoyed by Gaara's anger.

'Which one?'

'Duh! The one with the chicken ass for a head!'

'Not yet… But, maybe later.' Gaara thought as he silently chuckled at his alter ego's ruthlessness.

"You totally dyed your hair, didn't you? God, you're such a slut!" Ino cackled.

"It's not dyed." Sakura whispered.

"What did you say to me?" Ino hissed as she gave Sakura's hair a yank.

"I said it's not dyed, stupid." Sakura said clearly. This earned her a hard slap across her face, by Sasuke.

'Can I do it now?' Shukaku yelled in excitement at the fight. As Shukaku said that he kicked the door open and punched Sasuke across the face, knocking him down. Sasuke got back up and tried to punch him in the gut, but Gaara maneuvered and kneed him in the gut. Neji and TenTen were running out of the room, while Hinata pushed Ino away from Sakura.

"Hinata! Don't help that slug!' Ino screeched. Hinata hit the boiling point.

"Shut up you disgusting pig! I've had enough of you! I tried giving you the benefit of doubt for Naruto's sake, since you're his sister, but I can't handle you! You're just a whore, so don't come near Sakura or me ever again!" Hinata yelled at the top of her lungs. Everyone stared dumbfounded that 1) Hinata didn't stutter. 2) Hinata called Ino some very rude things and 3) Hinata was scary when she got mad!

"Let's go Sakura." Hinata held out her hand to Sakura and led her out. "Come on Gaara. Don't waste your time." Gaara punched Sasuke right in the nose, which produced a cracking sound.

The three of them were now sitting under the cherry tree near the back of the school.

"A-a-a-re you alright Sakura?" Hinata questioned.

"Why did you help me?" Sakura asked.

"She wants to be your friend." Gaara stated with a slight hiss. He had never had anyone who cared that much for him, other than his siblings, and was actually slightly jealous.

"Really?" Sakura asked in disbelief as she stared at the shy girl.

"Y-y-yes… Is it a b-burden to you?"

"No! Not at all!" Sakura exclaimed while standing up. "I've just never had friends.. is all." Sakura said while she began to cry silently.

'I like her. She's so innocent.' Shukaku said, which made Gaara softly smile.

'She sure is different, huh? I guess I'll get to know her.' Gaara thought obviously pleased. He got up and placed his hand on Sakura's cheek. She wasn't expecting this and flinched. When she realized he wouldn't hurt her, she looked up at him with her emerald eyes. He wiped away her tears with his thumb. Sakura mentally squealed and blushed a deep pink.

'They are so cute together. They should get together soon!' Hinata thought. Sakura stood there, her mind spinning in all different directions while Gaara stood there impatiently.

"U-u-um Sakura?"

Sakura turned her head to look at Hinata.

"What is it?" Sakura said quietly.

"I h-heard you were friends with Ino before… Is i-i-it true?" Hinata said unknowingly. She wasn't sure if she just asked a terrible question.

"Um, well yes. Back in elementary she helped me when I was bullied."

* * *

><p><em>Flashback<em>

"Haha! Look at billboard brow!" A girl named Ami yelled as she threw a rock at Sakura. Soon, many others joined.

"Leave her alone, you dumb bimbo!" Yelled a girl with short bright blonde hair. She began to throw the rocks back at the group, and they immediately ran away.

"Are you ok?"

"Why do you care?" Sakura asked while crying.

"Duh! I don't wanna see little pipsqueaks like you get beat up." Ino said putting on her winning smile. "I'm Ino."

"Sakura…"

_End_

* * *

><p>"We used to do everything together, but when we liked the same boy she stopped talking to me. She never said hi or anything and…." Sakura's face became dark as if she was remembering something that wasn't supposed to be told.<p>

"Gaara! Get your stupid ass over here!" Temari yelled.

"Can't you see his making the moves on those chicks. Nice going bro!" Kankuro yelled giving him a thumbs up and a Lee smile. Temari hit him on the head and walked over to the three.

"So, what's up?" Temari asked.

"Hn."

"N-n-nothing…"

Nothing."

"Damn! That hurt!" Kankuro said while rubbing his head.

"Well don't be such an idiot next time!" Temari roared as she hit Kankuro even harder. "Hey, Gaara, do you wanna invite these people over to our place to crash? I could use some girl time." It's a proven fact that when other girls are around, Temari is much nicer.

"Hell yeah!" Kankuro yelled while ducking behind Sakura for cover.

"Sure." Gaara said.

"Awesome!" Temari exclaimed. She took Sakura and Hinata by the hand. But, Gaara saw something he wasn't supposed to see….


	3. Feelings?

**None of the characters are mine! They belong to Masashi Kishimoto! **Reviews & suggestions are greatly accepted!

Gaara's room was quite plain and ordinary. His walls were a deep red with a few band posters here and there, he had a black desk underneath his large windows that could open, a tall white stand up lamp next to it, and a black and white dresser next to the door. His bed was on the opposite side of the room across from the door, and his sheets were just plain red.

He was lying down, staring up at the ceiling, arguing with Shukaku about the sight that he saw.

* * *

><p><em>Flashback<em>

As Sakura was walking away, he caught a glimpse of what was beneath Sakura's pink locks. He saw piercing emerald green eyes perfectly outlined with long eyelashes, a heart shaped face with porcelain like skin with full dark pink lips.

Gaara just stood there in awe, and Hinata immediately caught on to what was going on.

"G-g-gaara, do you l-l-like Sakura?" Hinata slowly asked. Gaara turned his head towards Hinata.

"Of course I don't. She's just another stupid girl." Gaara said a little too fast.

"Then why d-defend yourself s-so fast?" Hinata said with a small sly smile, and she definitely noticed his microscopic blush on his cheeks.

"Hn." Gaara said as he walked away trying to figure out how a simple female could dupe him so easily.

_End Flashback_

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><p>' I'm Gaara Sabaku. I would never like anyone.'<p>

'Heh sure, you can keep telling yourself that.' Shukaku said with a wide grin.

'Now you sound like that crazy girl, Hinata. I don't like her!' At that point, Gaara gave out a disgruntled sigh and walked downstairs to get something to drink. But, he forgot all about how his crazy sister invited the two girls over for the night.

"Hey girls! Let's have a pillow fight!" Kankuro said hoping he would get some "action", as he likes to put it.

"Kankuro! Stop harassing my adorablefriends!" Temari yelled while trying to beat him with a large collectible fan.

"Sakura, save me!" Kankuro said while pushing her in front of him. Temari caught Sakura and handed her to Gaara.

"Here, watch her for me! Kankuro get your stupid face over here!" She shrieked. Hinata wondered if this was supposed to be normal, but none the less laughed at the rivalry.

"Oh, I'm sorry Gaara." Sakura delicately said as she was reluctantly pushing herself off Gaara's chest, but was surprised when Gaara's grip on her tightened, like he didn't want to let go.

"It's alright." Gaara said while trying to contain Shukaku's excited cries. Sakura looked up at him, and he noticed a very noticeable blush on her cheeks. He softly smiled in response.

"Gaara stop flirting with Sakura!" Temari yelled, which caused both Hinata and Kankuro to look at them. Gaara gave them his famous glare, and they all turned away. He let go of Sakura and sat down on the black leather couch.

"Well, um, now what?" Sakura said nervously. A devilish grin appeared on the two older Sabaku's faces and they ran out of the room.

"A-a-are we supposed t-to be s-scared?" Hinata said while squezzing her hands together.

"It's ok Hinata." Sakura said with a gentle smile that made everyone feel calm.

_Knock Knock_

Hinata got up to answer the door, and was taken by surprise when an orange blur jumped on her.

"N-n-naruto?"

"Hey Hinata! Temari and Kankuro called me saying you anted to go get ramen with me!" Naruto said with a huge fox like grin on his face. "Are you ready to go?"

Hinata felt her face burning.

"I'll take that as a yes! Hey guys, I'll bring my girlfriend back in a couple hours, BELIEVE IT!" Naruto said while taking Hinata away from the group of people covering their ears for safety.

"They're dating?" Temari said in total shock.

" Yeah. Naruto asked her out last year during Homecoming and they have been inseperable since." Sakura stated while getting up. "I'll be right back, I need to use the restroom."

"Dang! I thought it would be the perfect prank!" Kankuro said having a tantrum.

"Next time, don't be stupid." Gaara said. Soon, they heard a large crash.

"That's probably Sakura. I'll be back." Temari said while going upstairs.

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><p><em>With Sakura and Temari<em>

Temari was looking around for Sakura, then she heard a slur of grumbles coming from the bathroom. She opened the door and found Sakura in the bathtub with all kinds of different covering her. Temari burst out laughing.

"How the hell did you manage to do this?" Temari asked between laughs.

"…I saw a spider…" Sakura mumbled. Temari was rolling around on the floor now. "Mean! It's not that funny!"

"Here, lemme help you!" Temari said barely able to contain her laughter. "Be more careful next time. I don't think my brother would want you hurt."

Sakura's face was even redder than Gaara's hair now.

"W-what makes you think that?"

"Just a hunch." Temari winked. Sakura ran out of the room at that point.

'Awwwwwww, how cute! She likes him!' Temari snickered at the thought of them together. 'Too cute.'

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><p><em>With Gaara and Kankuro<em>

" Yo bro! What do you wanna do?" Kankuro said.

"Hn."

" You wanna watch Temari's stupid dramas?"

"No."

"How about play a video game?"

"No."

"How about-"

"No."

"Gaara you're so lame!"

"No, you're just being dumb."

…..Silence…..

"Gaara?"

"Hn?"

"Do you like Sakura?" Kankuro already knew the answer, which was a no. That was Gaara's usual answer to everything no matter what it was.

…Silence…

"OH MY GOD! You like her!" Kankuro yelled while standing up in a dramatic way.

"Who likes who?" Temari said with Sakura behind her. Gaara looked up and locked eyes with Sakura. A faint blush crept up his face, and Kankuro got his answer.

"Kankuro likes Konan." Gaara said trying to hide his face from everyone.

"Kankuro let's have a talk about Konan." Temari said with a slight hiss and dragged him away to another room. Konan and Temari were close friends before Konan moved here to follow a guy she fell in love with Pein. But, Pein had a girlfriend here, which is why he moved.

"Sakura. Can we go somewhere?" Gaara asked while getting his motorcycle keys.

"Um, sure. Where do you want to go?" Sakura asked trying to steady her heartbeat.

"It's a surprise." Gaara said slowly to add emphasis. He grabbed her by the hand and led her out the door.


	4. Under the Stars

**None of the characters are mine! They belong to Masashi Kishimoto! **Reviews & suggestions are greatly accepted!

**I am SOOOOO sorry for not updating! Just so much stupid school junk _! So, I will be giving you two chapters to make up for it.**

Sakura and Gaara were speeding down the road on Gaara's motorcycle. His cycle was red with black swirls engraved on it, along with the kanji for love.

'Damn, she's got a tight grip.' Gaara thought.

'Too fast! Too fast!' Sakura mentally yelled in her head while tightly gripping onto Gaara for dear life.

Minutes later, they were at a rundown building. It looked like it was abandoned, due to the fact that the lawn was overgrown, the bricks on the building were a faded red, and the metal door had a sign that said **CONDEMNED.** As if that wasn't an obvious sign. Gaara walked up to the door, unlocked it, and walked right in. He stopped noticing Sakura wasn't following and just stood there waiting for her. She got the hint and ran after him.

"Why are we here Gaara?"

"…"

" Hmph. You know you have to talk to me eventually." Sakura said as she stopped walking and just pouted. Gaara didn't hear the light steps she made when she walked, so he stopped to look behind him.

"Come on." He commanded as he kept walking, making sure to hide the faint blush that had come across his face.

'She's cute when she pouts. Snap out of it, you are heartless and will never love.' Gaara told himself while putting his poker face back on.

**'Give it up kid, you've fallen for her. You know I wouldn't mind making her ours.' Shukaku said as he began doing a creeper laugh.**

'Shut up, before I…' Gaara said intimaditingly before Sakura screamed. He quickly turned around to see Sakura on the floor.

"Did you fall?"

"Um…no….." Sakura said while trying to get up.

"Then why are you face first on the floor?" Gaara said while smirking. He extended a hand out towards Sakura, who gladly took it.

"I just can't see that's all!" Sakura yelled.

"Defensive are we?" Gaara said while chuckling.

"Meanie! And to think I thought you were cute when you smirked!" Sakura yelled, but immediately ran ahead covering her mouth.

'What did I just say?' Sakura said, as she was cursing herself mentally.

'Woah….'

**'Woah, indeed. I nominate making her ours!'**

'In your dreams, you creepo.' Gaara said trying to keep up with Sakura. She stopped when she saw that there were two sets of stairs, one spiraling upward and the other downward.

"Go up." Gaara said. Sakura could feel his hot breath on her ear, since she was shorter, and became a couple shades darker than her hair.

"A-a-alright." Sakura said while climbing up the stairs. Soon, they came upon a door. Gaara opened it, and Sakura was astonished.

From the top of the roof, you could see the whole city and all the stars. The city lights were twinkling along with the hustle and bustle of the city, while the stars seemed to be responding to the city lights.

"I usually come up here to think."

"Gaara it's so beautiful up here. I can see why you chose this place to come to, it's just so peaceful. It feels like you're in a whole new world, and don't you dare start singing." Sakura said while twirling around to look into Gaara's eyes. This made Sakura's bangs move out of her face and stay swept to the side of her face.

"Can I ask you a personal question?" Gaara said, being very cautious with his words.

"Shoot."

"Why don't you ever let anyone see your face?"

"Everyone used to bully me about my looks. They would say my forehead was big to make up for the lack of my brains. So, I thought it would be easier to just be alone." Sakura said solemnly. She looked down at the concrete floor.

"Well, I think you're breathtaking." Gaara said as he tilted her head towards him. And as everyone would have guessed Sakura started freaking out.

"Hahahahahahaha! A-a-anyway let's get back to the party!" Sakura cried nervously as she ran towards the door.

"Cute." Gaara simply said as he genuinely smiled for the first time in years.

They got back to the house at around 11:30, just to have Naruto jump on Gaara.

"Woah! Did you and Sakura-chan go on a date?" Naruto yelled while he was on Gaara's back.

"Stupid, get off." Gaara said while jerking Naruto off his back, causing Naruto to land on his butt.

"No need to be defensive." Naruto said while rubbing his sore butt.

"Where did you guys go anyway?" Temari questioned, hoping it had been a date.

"To get away from Kankuro's stupidity."

"Hey! I am not that stupid!" Kankuro shrieked! This earned him 'are you serious?' glares. "You guys are all stupid! You just don't understand true genius when it's in front of your face."

"Sure…." Everyone said.

Soon, everyone was playing videogames, except Hinata, Sakura, and Gaara.

"Can I t-t-talk to you two in p-private?" Hinata whispered. Sakura and Gaara nodded, so they all went into the kitchen.


	5. Good Gossip

**None of the characters are mine! They belong to Masashi Kishimoto! **Reviews & suggestions are greatly accepted!

The three teenagers walked towards the rather spacious kitchen.

It had a large marble counter, across from the counter was a two door metallic refrigerator with a two matching stoves on the left side of it, and it had oak cupboards lining the walls. On the other side of the counter were three white antique swivel stools that used to be used in 60's diners.

Sakura and Hinata took seats, while Gaara was on the other side of the counter. For a few moments there was an awkward silence.

"Um, so what did you want to talk about Hinata?" Sakura lightly said slicing the tension with her words.

"W-w-well, I just wanted to ask you guys…um… douikechohr?" Hinata mumbled. Both Sakura and Gaara exchanged looks at each other as if asking each other, 'What the heck did she say?'

"Um.. Could you repeat that once more Hinata?" Sakura said.

"I-I-I said do ikuchohr?" This time she said it slightly clearer.

"Once more." Gaara monotonously said.

"Do you like each other?" Hinata yelled out of aggravation. Now this got everyone's attention. It seemed like a spotlight was placed on Sakura, who was beet red, and Gaara, who was slightly pink.

'They know!' Both of them said in their heads.

"I'll let Gaara go first." Sakura said, as she tried hiding her obvious blush.

"Hn." Was all Gaara said before he left to go upstairs.

**'Smooth Casanova.' Shukaku mocked.**

'Shut up. I don't like her in any way shape or form.'

'**Your right you love her.' Shukaku said grinning an all-knowing grin.**

This got Gaara thinking. Did he love her? No, of course not! He would never love anyone… But, he might have a slight crush on her. Gaara stood on the top step debating with himself over Sakura, until he heard his friends and siblings interrogate her.

"Awwww do you like my baby bro Sakura?" Temari and Kankuro said in unison, which was rare since they never agreed on anything at all.

"Um um um…" Sakura said becoming flustered.

"Sorry Sakura, but um isn't gunna cut it! Either you tell or you have to but me ramen for the rest of the year!" Naruto said with a large grin.

"….Yes….." Sakura slowly said becoming even more flustered. She ran up the stairs to use the restroom, but collided into Gaara. They both blushed in their own unique ways, and they seemed suspended in time just staring into each other's eyes.

"You like me?" Gaara asked hiding his eagerness to hear it from her.

"Y-y-yes." Sakura said, beginning to blush even more.

"Good." Gaara said, keeping his poker face on, as he bent down and kissed her forehead. This caused Sakura to faint. Gaara effortlessly caught her, and carried her bridal style to the coach in the living room.

"Awwwwwwwww! Cute!" Both Hinata and Temari cooed.

"Wow I didn't know anyone other than Hinata could have….well a Hinata moment." Kankuro said in awe.

"Are you making fun of my baby!" Naruto said standing up. Everyone sweat dropped.

"Did you just say baby?" Kankuro asked. "Cuz if you did, and my hearing isn't gone from Temari's non-stop yelling, then that was the lamest thing I have ever heard!" Kankuro now said as he tried to contain his laughter.

"W-w-w-well I thought it was adorable." Hinata said quickly giving her boyfriend a peck on the cheek. Naruto bear-hugged Hinata, which soon led to them making out.

"God get a room!" Temari yelled pretending to barf.

"Depends can we borrow yours?" Naruto winked. This earned him a hit on the back of his head.

"Ow! What did I do?" Naruto said rubbing the back of his head, giving his girlfriend the puppy dog look.

"That's for being a pig." Hinata said obviously mad because when she's mad she doesn't stutter, at all. The rest of the night was filled with dirty jokes, stupid games, horror stories, and would you rather. All in all, it was epic.

* * *

><p>Soon, 6 A.M. rolled around, and, unfortunately, it was Tuesday.<p>

'Great. Another fun filled day of school.' Sakura thought to herself. She noticed the other people around her. Naruto and Hinata were cuddled in the sleeping bag Hinata brought, Temari was asleep on a bar seat, Kankuro was on the floor surrounded by candy wrappers, and Gaara was asleep in a chair next to the couch.

'He's so cute when he's asleep.' She thought smiling to herself. 'Now how do I wake everyone up.. I know' A mischievous grin grew on her face as she found two pans.

_**BANG, BANG, BANG **_ "C'mon everyone get up right now!" _**BANG, BANG, BANG**_

An eruption of screams came after that, even from Gaara.

"Sakura-chan, it's way too early for that." Everyone groaned, other than Gaara. He definitely was NOT a morning person.

"Well too bad! We have school, and I don't want to be late." Sakura said as she got everyone up out of "bed". Eventually, everyone was up and standing in line to take a shower. Everyone except Gaara.

"C'mon Gaara, you have to get up."

"Hn."

"Don't make me kiss you." Sakura whispered in his ear. This made Gaara wake up immediately.

"What did you say?" Gaara asked in shock.

"Got you." Sakura said as she started giggling. Gaara smiled softly, loving the way she laughed.

"Do I get some type of prize?"

"Hm.. Well what do you want?"

After a few seconds of thought, Gaara told her he wanted to see her beautiful face, and this made her blush. Nonetheless, she obliged and lifted her bangs. What he saw left him speechless. It was exactly the same as the last time he saw it, but this time it just seemed even more beautiful. Maybe it was because she let him see it, and the fact that her face had a light pink to it. He couldn't help but smile knowing she was blushing because of him.

"Do I look weird?" She asked as they locked eyes.

"No." Gaara slowly said as he leaned towards her lips. When they connected it was like sparks flew, their lips melded together perfectly. It was simple yet passionate, chaste yet everlasting, slow yet fast, and over all amazing. They pulled away, only to hear everyone making kissing noises at them and squealing out of delight.

"So, Gaara, you finally made your move. I was wondering how long it would take, cuz if you didn't do it soon, I might have just taken her from you." Kankuro said teasingly.

"Don't touch MY blossom." Gaara said while holding Sakura close to him. This made everyone, even himself, think,

'What did he/I just say?'

'**I have my ways.' Shukaku said as he began a fit of maniacal laughter.**

"So does this mean we are together?" Sakura asked timidly.

"Depends." Gaara said slowly.

"On what?" Sakura said like a little child.

"If you want to." Gaara said brushing Sakura's bangs out of her eyes, which meant everyone could see her face now. For once, she didn't care at all.

"Well that depends." Sakura said mimicking Gaara.

"On?"

"Whether you want to, silly." Sakura said smiling. Gaara just pulled her into another sweet kiss, although it didn't last very long with Temari yanking them apart. She was saying something about how she didn't want to be an aunt just yet, etc., etc., blah, blah,blah.

* * *

><p>They all got to school and went their separate ways, until lunch. Sakura and Gaara walked into school holding hands with Sakura's bangs split down the middle, framing her face. Naruto was giving Hinata a piggyback ride, which was a daily ritual since Hinata is clumsier than she looks. Temari went to stare at the clouds with Shikamaru, while Konan was doing Kankuro's purple face paint.<p>

* * *

><p><em>On the bleachers<em>

"So what's the new dirt?" Ino said while admiring her $100 manicure.

"Hinata is being more affectionate with Naruto, and she barely stutters." Ten-ten told her.

"Well, two idiots suit each other." Sasuke scoffed causing Ino to giggle.

"Oh, Temari and your ex are getting overly chummy. Plus, Kankuro and that emo chick, Konan, are glued to the hip." Ami said condescendingly, knowing the first part would get under her skin. She hated Ino, but after she turned on Sakura they became best friends. Ami has purple hair in a triangular bob cut with her bangs sweeping a little over her left eye.

"Meh. I knew that already. Damn, this school has no good gossip!" Ino yelled throwing her one long bright blonde bang back, and readjusted her high ponytail. Neji came walking up and sat down. After he did, he took Ten-Ten into his arms and hugged her from behind on her waist.

"You want some gossip?" Neji asked. "Well, Sakura no longer has her bangs in her face, is dating that Gaara kid, and she already has a fan club starting."

Ino face curled up into one of disgust.

"Who does she think she is? No one is allowed to have a fan club other than me! Ami what time is it?"

"It's 6:45."

"Neji what time did that whore get here?"

"Fifteen minutes ago."

This set Ino off. Her face became even more contorted in anger, and you could see the steam coming out of her ears, since it was the middle of December.

"Don't worry, babe. I'll put an end to her." Sasuke said snaking his arm over her shoulders.

'And I'll get that bastard away from her. Sakura is mine and only mine. He won't want her after lunch.' Sasuke thought as his eyes gained a light red tint to them.


	6. Revealed

**None of the characters are mine! They belong to Masashi Kishimoto! **Reviews & suggestions are greatly accepted! I'm posting this early! I just had so much inspiration and I thought I should explain why Sasuke said what he did in the last chapter, since some of you were confused. So here we go!

* * *

><p>"Sasuke, c'mon we're gunna be late!" Ino said gripping onto her boyfriend's arm.<p>

"Hn. Give me a couple minutes." He said lazily.

"Fine, whatever." Ino said as she tried to look sexy while walking away. Sasuke sat there drowning in his memories of Sakura and him together. But, all he could keep thinking about the day he regretted, the day he wished he could erase. The day he broke Sakura.

* * *

><p><em><span>Flashback<span>_

Sasuke had his arm around the waist around his girlfriend, Sakura. They were laughing and simply having fun. Their relationship was the longest to last out of everyone in their school, eleven months. Sasuke always wondered how a simple girl like Sakura could keep him entertained since 8th grade until their freshman year. It was no secret that he was a player, but he had never wanted to betray Sakura's trust.

"I need to go to my P.E. clothes from my locker." Sakura said while she gazed up at her boyfriend.

"Alright, meet you at the bleachers?"

"Of course. That's our groups spot." Sakura said grinning up at him. They kissed quickly then went in different directions. Sasuke made it to the bleachers, but what shocked to see who was there.

"Hi Sasuke." Ino said, batting her fake eyelashes.

"What's she doing here?" Sasuke said seething with anger. He was staring at the girl who always made fun of his girlfriend, and he knew it was his fault.

"C'mon teme, she's my sister. Besides she needed to meet certain people." Naruto said whispering the last part and glancing over at Hinata. The dobe has had a crush on her ever since 6th grade, but they were totally oblivious to how they both liked each other.

"Hn, whatever you say dobe." Sasuke said emphasizing the last word.

"TEME!" Naruto said as he jumped on Sasuke, and got him in a headlock. Soon, it was a battle over who could get the other in a headlock.

"Naruto, don't hurt him too badly. I still need him to help me pick out a dress." Sakura said while giggling.

"I think that's the worst torture of them all. So troublesome." Shikamaru said, which caused everyone to burst out laughing. Well, almost everyone.

"Can I talk to you alone?" Ino said staring directly at Sasuke. Sasuke knew they could get away from everyone without noticing, so he said that they would be back.

"What do you want?" Sasuke said coldly.

"How long are you gunna keep this going with Sakura?" Ino said getting straight to the point. This caught Sasuke off guard.

"What the hell do you mean?" Sasuke said trying to maintain his cold exterior.

"Everyone wants to know when you're gunna dump that bimbo. You, Sasuke Uchiha, used to be the greatest player on campus. Ever since you got with Sakura, Kiba has taken you're spot. Face it you've lost your edge and now you're just a softie." Ino said taunting Sasuke.

This caused Sasuke to get angry, and turn on a switch he had long ago given up. He grabbed Ino and began to furiously make out with her.

"That proves I haven't gone soft." Sasuke purred into her ear making her shiver.

"Then let's go make fun of Sakura and tell her it was all a joke. Unless you're to scared." Ino definitely knew how to manipulate a man. Soon, they were with everyone at the bleachers again.

"Sakura, we're over." Sasuke said staring Sakura with cold eyes.

"Wh-what?" Sakura said in utter shock.

"You heard him! He's with me now, billboard brow!" Ino said wickedly.

"B-but why?" Sakura was on the verge of tears.

"This was all a joke! I never loved you I just wanted to see how stupid you were to think that I loved you! Honestly, I thought you weren't such a whore." Sasuke said with pure hatred. He watched as Sakura broke into tears, suddenly regretting everything. But for some reason, he just couldn't stop there. Watching a girl cry over him reminded him of how he used to be the best of the best when it came to being a player.

"If any of you are on Sakura's side or stay her friend, I will make sure your lives are a living hell." Sasuke said cruelly. He knew no one would go against him, since his father was the best lawyer in town.

"Get out of her and never come back you ugly tramp." Sasuke hissed locking eyes with Sakura.

_End of Flashback_

* * *

><p>He couldn't believe he actually did that to Sakura. Sakura was the only person he actually loved, but his stupid pride got in the way as usual. That's the only reason he ever put rats in her locker, had his friends throw water on her, and always put her down with hateful words. He never wanted it this way, but it was all his stupid prides fault! The worst part of it all was that he could never hold Sakura in his arms again.<p>

"If I can't have her, then no one can." Sasuke said quietly as he walked to first period.

The whole day was spent with Gaara menacingly glaring at guys who would be drooling all over Sakura. But, she didn't mind she encouraged it. All the attention made her rigid and nervous, and Gaara was like her knight in shining armor. Luckily, they had every class together, so he could be there for her.

Hours, later it was lunch. Gaara, Sakura, Hinata, and Naruto decided to eat under the cherry tree, which was officially their hangout spot. Gaara and Sakura got there early.

"Do I look weird?" Sakura asked hesitantly, afraid of the answer.

"Not in the slightest. Why?"

"Everyone kept staring at me today. It was kind of scary…"

"They are just finally seeing how beautiful you are." Gaara whispered reassuringly. This made Sakura tear up.

"You're so sweet."

"Drama queen." Gaara teased. This earned him a light hit on the arm.

"I am not. That hurt Gaara, I can't believe that's how you actually felt!" Sakura yelled dramatically as she clutched onto her heart. The sight caused him to laugh and her to giggle. She gave him a kiss on the cheek, which made him a cute light pink.

"Awwww, little panda-chan is blushing!" Sakura teased.

"Oh, yeah?" Gaara retaliated by kissing her on the lips. He licked her bottom lip sending shivers down her spine. Sakura gladly gave him entrance, and in a matter of seconds their tongues were fighting for dominance. Unfortunately, a loud EW, coming from none other than Naruto, interrupted them.

"Hinata help me! My eyes I think I went blind!" Naruto said glomping onto his girlfriend. Hinata kissed his forehead and smiled lightly at him. Temari, Shikamaru, Kankuro, and Konan joined them shortly afterward.

"Gaara you have some rice on your lip." Sakura said wiping off the rice with her finger and ate it.

'How can she be so cute?' Gaara thought.

**'Because she's ours!' Shukaku yelled **

'Do you ever let me think to myself?'

**'I am you, numb nuts.' **

'Ugh! Do you ever say anything useful?'

**'Well a certain chicken ass is walking over looking directly at our beauty. When do I get to kill him?' Shukaku said evilly, thinking of all the ways to maim the boy.**

'Patience.'

Gaara put his arms around Sakura's waist protectively. Sakura was about to ask why, until she saw Sasuke walking over and turned so she could hold Gaara. In all honesty, she was terrified. She knew exactly what he could do and didn't want him anywhere near her boyfriend.

"Sakura. Sabaku." Sasuke said angrily.

"What do you want Uchiha?" Gaara said holding Sakura closer, he could tell she was nervous.

"I just wanted to see make sure you weren't killing Sakura. Just like you killed your parents." Sasuke said with a smirk.


	7. Past Problems

**None of the characters are mine! They belong to Masashi Kishimoto! **Reviews & suggestions are greatly accepted!

All hell was about to break lose, and Temari and Kankuro knew that. They knew how Gaara would react, but they didn't know how Sakura would act.

"What are you talking about?" Sakura hesitantly asked.

"Didn't you hear? Gaara is a psychopath killer. When he was five, his mom didn't get him a toy he wanted and killed her with a pair of scissors. Everyone stared in horror at Gaara, except the two siblings and Sakura. She just stared at the grass.

"You don't know anything Uchiha." Gaara said dangerously. This caused Sasuke to slightly shiver, but he was going to stand his ground.

"C'mon Sakura, you shouldn't be around murderers." He said as he yanked Sakura out of Gaara's lap. As soon as he did, Gaara snarled and was about to punch him in the face.

"No!" Sakura said snatching her arm back from Sasuke.

"Sakura he's a monster." Sasuke said easing his hand on her porcelain like face. "I'm trying to protect you."

"Don't." Sakura said sharply as she looked up at him. The only thing you could see in her usually vibrant eyes was hate. But, he wasn't sure whom it was for.

"Please, Sakura. I don't want anything happening to you." He said in a calm, caring voice. Usually, you would never find those two words paired with Sasuke Uchiha.

"Don't you dare say that to me!" Sakura snapped. This made everyone confused. Sakura never snapped at anyone, she was always either quite or happy, until now. "Why would you say that to me of all times? You say you want to protect me, well then where were you when everyone was beating me up or making fun of me? Oh, that's right you were helping them!"

Everyone was left dumbstruck. None of them knew what to do, since they have never seen Sakura angry. Gaara got up, took Sakura's hand, and they ran away. Sasuke was about to chase after them until Naruto stepped in.

"Dobe, get out of my way. I will break your arm in half." Sasuke threatened.

"Shut up, teme. She is finally happy and I won't let you ruin that." Naruto said with determination.

* * *

><p><em>With Gaara and Sakura<em>

He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, and, basically, dragged Sakura along. Soon, they were going up the stairs that led to the roof.

"Gaara can we please stop?" Sakura begged in between gasps for desperately needed air. They stopped outside the door to the roof and decided that being on the roof would be nice. But, there was an awkward silence after a few minutes.

"Is what he said true?" Sakura quietly asked, keeping her eyes glued to the cement.

"No. But, my mom did die giving birth to me. It was my fault." Gaara said having a distant look in his eyes.

* * *

><p><em><span>Flashback<span>_

A five-year-old Gaara sat at the dining room table eating his dinner, until his father entered. Ever since Gaara's mother passed, his father became abusive. He blamed Gaara for everything terrible that happened to him and always reminded him of that.

"I got fired for feeling up some broad at work." His father hissed right into Gaara's face. Gaara cringed. His father's breath smelled like alcohol and a dead animal combined.

"It's all your fault, you little devil child." In an instant, Gaara was on the floor being whipped by his father belt. His cries of agony could be heard through out the whole neighborhood, but everyone ignored it. They didn't want to cause any more problems for the child.

After a few hours, Gaara's father passed out on the floor. Temari and Kankuro soon helped bandage Gaara so he wouldn't have to deal with scars in the future. It was like this almost every night until their father died of alcohol poisoning a few months later. I mean, what do you expect from someone who's been drinking heavily for five straight years?

_End of Flashback_

* * *

><p>"Oh, Gaara I'm so sorry." Sakura cried as she held onto Gaara. She held him like if she squeezed too hard he would crumble beneath her. Gaara didn't even realize that he had been talking about it as he relived the memory. Nor, did he know that he had begun to cry.<p>

"Sakura, please, I beg you…don't leave me.." Gaara quietly said as he silently cried into her shoulder.

"Gaara I won't, I promise. Besides, you didn't do anything. Sasuke was just being well…."

"An asshole." Gaara said angrily.

"Yeah, exactly that." Sakura agreed while giggling. This caused Gaara to do his famous lop sided smile, which always made Sakura's heart skip a few beats. They gave each other a chaste kiss, then got up holding hands and headed back into class. Sasuke saw this and became angry.

"Ew, look the slug finally found someone who would…" Ino suddenly stopped what she was saying when she saw Sakura's face. She was awestruck. This was the girl who she had bullied all these years. What was really amazing, was that she hadn't changed much from when they were young. Sakura still had that same delicate skin and emerald doe eyes, but she had changed in so many ways. Her lips were much more full and a dark pink, her eyelashes grew to the point were they looked as if they were fake. But, her eyelashes were pink, so they obviously weren't fake. She just looked stunning.

"Hey Ino-pig! You're hair looks oh so beautiful today!" Sakura yelled causing people to laugh. Ino didn't understand, so she looked in her compact and screamed. Her ponytail was literally sticking up in random places. The humidity had gotten to her hair and created a static cling. Ino was beyond pissed right now.

'That little brat! I will so be getting her back for this!'

Gaara and Sakura proceeded to take their seats in the corner of the room and starting passing notes. (A.N. **BOLD= Gaara**_, Italic= Sakura)_

'**Since when were you so cruel to whores?'**

'_Since when were you so cruel to man-whores?'_

'**Touché. Meet at the cherry tree after school?'**

'_Totally! Could my awesome, super, adorable boyfriend give me a ride? '_

'**Sure.'**

"YAY!" Sakura said out loud and kissed Gaara on the lips for at least a few minutes, until the bell rang.

3rd Period: Gym

Sakura, Hinata, and Temari all walked into gym laughing about how Naruto got detention for mimicking Kakashi. It was completely spot-on, which was why they were laughing about it so hard. Sakura and Temari wondered if he would turn into the new Kakashi and Hinata was determined to never let that happen.

"Did you see that pose he did when he yelled 'This book is my passion!' ?" Sakura said while trying not to think about it.

"Yeah! That was terrible! I can't believe he got up on the table and did a total troll face." Temari said, while trying to gain the much-needed oxygen.

"Don't forget the superhero pose he did on top of it. He looked like Troll Man." Hinata said, giggling at her boyfriend's stupidity.

"Hahaha! Troll Man making people feel pure rage wherever he goes!" Sakura said in a deep narrator's voice. This caused all of them to burst out laughing. They barely made it to the locker room to change into their uniforms.

"I swear these uniforms get worse and worse every year!" Sakura said frustrated. Unfortunately, she was right. The uniforms had Fire High across the chest of their white shirts and the shorts were way too short for her liking.

"W-well, at least you have Gaara to protect you." Hinata said.

This was the only class Naruto wasn't in, and that had made Hinata really nervous. Every year she's had Naruto in all her classes, miraculously. Almost everyone else was here though, Gaara, Kankuro, and Konan. There were a few other kids that Sakura hadn't met yet that were in their class. All three girls walked out to be greeted by catcalls and whistles. Sakura and Temari rolled their eyes, but Hinata got really scared and froze in the middle of the floor.

"My cousin is completely useless." Neji said with pure malice.

"Neji don't be so mean! She's actually really nice, plus she's better than stupid Ino." Ten-Ten scolded.

"If you don't like her so much then why do we still hang out with her?" Neji stated.

"Cuz she's psycho with a capital p! I mean to you want her going all Godzilla on us?" Ten-Ten said with a lot of arm use.

"I wouldn't mind switching to the pink girl's team. She's pretty hot." Kiba said as he stuck his head between theirs.

"You can be such a pig!" Ten-Ten said with slight disgust but mostly teasing.

"Correction. He can be such a dog." Neji said earning a few giggles from his girlfriend, while he got some glares from Kiba.

Meanwhile, Sakura and Temari were dragging Hinata across the floor over to their other three friends.

"That ass Neji is talking smack about you. Can I go brutally beat him up?" Konan asked, as if that wouldn't earn her a possible trip to jail.

"Uh… I think that would get you sent to jail." Sakura said.

"Well it's worth it. You and Hinata are like the baby sisters I've always wanted." Konan said as she grabbed the two in her signature hug, a double headlock. Once Sakura was out of her grip, she slinked over to Gaara.

"Hey, panda-chan." Sakura said with an adoring smile.

"Why do you insist on calling me that?" Gaara said slightly irritated by the pet name. It in no way was fitting for him.

"Simple, it fits you to a T." Sakura said while looking up at him.

"Oh, and how so?" Gaara said looking down with his lop sided smirk.

"Panda's can be cute and cuddly, but when you piss them off they can claw you to death." Sakura said smiling brightly.

"Hm. You sure are different."

"Is that bad?" Sakura said with a confused expression written all over her face.

"Not at all." Gaara said leaning down for a kiss. This made the whole class stare at them. I mean, the whole picture was crazy. The school's outcast turned beauty kissing the silent murderous bad boy turned soft and loving knight. Yeah, kinda hard to adjust to.

_With Ten-Ten, Neji, and Kiba_

"Aw! They are so cute together. I've never seen her so happy." Ten-Ten said while swooning at the sight.

"I've never seen her face in general." Neji said, hoping Ten-Ten wouldn't chew him out for that.

"Well I say we change teams! Besides, Ino is a crazy lunatic!" Kiba said with a large grin that exposed his sharp canines. Kiba was a member of Ino's group, but found her voice too irritating. So, he usually just roams the halls flirting with different girls. He was the school's number one playboy, even after Sasuke and Sakura broke up. I guess Sasuke just didn't have the heart for it.

"Can we Neji? Pretty please? I'll let you pick the next movie on date night." Ten-Ten pleaded. She knew Neji couldn't resist the part about the movies, and that's why she always made them watch chick flicks.

"Deal!" Neji immediately agreed. He would die if he had to sit through another movie like '27 Dresses'. Sometimes he would have nightmares about being buried alive in bridesmaid's dresses.

Ten-Ten grabbed his hand and dragged him all the way over to where they were standing with Kiba tailing them.

"Is it alright if we join you?" Ten-Ten politely asked. The six teens looked at each other with suspicion.

"Aren't you with that bimbo's group?" Konan venomously asked.

"Nah. We decided to ditch her. She is way too irritating." Kiba said while eyeing Sakura.

"Well first you guys have to swear you aren't with her anymore." Sakura said just to seal the deal.

"Swear." All three said.

"I can seal it with a kiss if you want." Kiba said winking at Sakura.

"Back off, mutt." Gaara said protectively holding Sakura.

"Calm down. I was only joking." Kiba said throwing his hands up in defense. The gym teacher, Gai, blew his whistle.

"I proclaim today as the day of dodge-ball! Dodge ball is the epitome of youthful sports! Go children, split into two youthful teams and commence the day of being showered with youth!" Gai yelled. Man, did this guy like the word youth/youthful or what?

The teams were split like this. Kankuro's Team: Sakura, Gaara, Hinata, Temari, Konan, Neji, Ten-Ten, and Kiba. Sai's Team: Ino, Sasuke, Ami, Karin, Suigetsu, Zabuza, Tayuya, and Haku. After a long, depressing dodge-ball game, Kankuro's team won by 9-0.

After School

Sakura ran to meet Gaara at the cherry tree, but instead when she turned the corner she ran into someone.

"I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going." She said as she looked up while rubbing her nose. She was so glad that she ran into Gaara and not some jerk off.

"Hn." Gaara said giving Sakura the cold shoulder as they walked over to their tree. When they got there, it was nothing but silence.

"Gaara are you mad at me?" Sakura asked. This surprised Gaara.

'How could she think I'm mad at her?' Gaara asked in disbelief.

'**Yo, kid, you gave her an ice cold shoulder and it's been silent for at least thirty minutes!' Shukaku yelled/scolded.**

'Wow..Really?'

'**Yes, numbskull! Now make her love you again!' Shukaku said as he pretended to shove Gaara.**

"Of course I'm not, I would never be." Gaara said reassuringly.

"Well, what is it?"

"My step-brother is staying over for a few weeks."

"How is that a bad thing?"

* * *

><p><em><span>Flashback<span>_

Gaara was walking back from Wind Middle School thinking about how this day could get any better. First, he aced his math test, he got to play dodge ball, he got asked to the dance, and his stepbrother was coming over. Even though he didn't care about the girl, just the gesture of asking made him feel wanted.

"Sasori!" Gaara yelled while trying to catch up with another shaggy redheaded boy.

"Hey, Gaara." Sasori said as he turned to face Gaara. "How've ya been?"

"Good. I got asked to the school dance by a girl today." Gaara said beaming.

"Oh, who is this lucky girl?" Sasori inquired.

"Her name is Matsuri. We agreed that we are only going as friends, but it's nice to feel wanted, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. Congrats, man. Soon, you'll be a smooth ladies man." Sasori said picking up his luggage and winking towards Gaara. That night was the best night of Gaara's life. They had spaghetti for dinner, they watched a horror movie marathon, and he picked out awesome rock clothes for the dance tomorrow, Saturday. Unbeknownst to him, he would have a rude awakening.

Gaara woke up to find that Temari and Kankuro were outside on the patio. Kankuro was tinkering with his puppets, while Temari was repairing her old tattered up fans. He decided it would be better to hang out with Sasori than learn about puppets or fans. After a couple minutes, he couldn't find Sasori anywhere, and Gaara decided to take a walk to his favorite park. When he got there, he couldn't believe what was happening. There he was making out with Matsuri, and that definitely made Gaara mad. But, he wasn't mad because he liked Matsuri. He was mad because he trusted Sasori but was stabbed in the back. He ran home and completely trashed all of Sasori's belongings.

"What the hell, Gaara?" Sasori said enraged. "Why did you do this?"

"You stabbed me in the back! Matsuri called me telling me that I was just a loner, and she just felt sorry for me. Now, she's taking the one person who I trusted other than my siblings!" Gaara said, shaking with rage.

"It's not my fault that you're weak and pathetic! Nobody likes you at all! I don't even like you! I've hated you all my life because you killed my mom!" Sasori spitefully shouted.

This got Shukaku angry, so he decided to take over when Gaara was blaming himself for his mother dying. Shukaku lunged at Sasori. Sasori was able to push him off and get a few good punches in, but Shukaku was too much for him. He got ahold of Sasori's shoulders, threw him against the wall, and found his Louisville Slugger. He proceeded to beat him with it. Blood was splattered in many different places, and Shukaku had managed to break Sasori's right arm and left leg.

"Gaara! What did you do?" Temari came in after she heard all the noise.

"He had it coming." Gaara said in a low, gravely voice. When Temari heard that voice she knew Gaara's alter ego had taken over.

"Kankuro, get in here!" Temari yelled as Kankuro came running. He understood what had happened when he saw that evil look in Gaara's eyes. He helped Temari lift Sasori out of the room as fast as he could, locked Gaara in his room, and helped Sasori into the car. When the three of them came home, Sasori had a cast on his whole left leg and right arm. He went to go up to his guest room, until he saw Gaara in the hallway.

"You so of a bitch. If it's the last thing I do, I will ruin your life." Sasori whispered harshly as he limped away.

_End of Flashback_

* * *

><p>"Gaara. If it would make you feel better, you can stay at my place for a little while." Sakura said as she held a somber Gaara.<p>

"What about your parents?" Gaara whispered. Sakura looked down into her laps, allowing her bangs to cover her face. She thought he wouldn't be able to see her silent crying, but he could see the glisten from the tears running don her face. He decided not to touch on the subject any further.

"You don't have to tell me now. But, will you tell me within the next few days?" Gaara asked, hoping she would allow him into her sheltered world.

"Of course, Gaara. I'll tell you later tonight. Do you still wanna stay over?" Sakura asked while looking up into Gaara's eyes.

"Does this answer your question?" He said as he leaned towards her lips. They shared a passionate kiss until they needed to breath. He got up and extended a hand to help her up. She gladly accepted, they intertwined hands, and began to walk to Gaara's house. They were going to face his past together.

**Wow nine pages! This is definitely the longest chapter ever! Please R&R! Thankies **


	8. In A Haze

**None of the characters are mine! They belong to Masashi Kishimoto! **Reviews & suggestions are greatly accepted!

* * *

><p>With hands intertwined, Gaara and Sakura began to walk over to go pick up some things Gaara would need. Sasori would be attending their school for the next few weeks after being suspended from Suna High for blowing up the science wing of his school with his friend, Deidara.<p>

Suna High is a boarding school, but most of the students are delinquents or in gangs. Their uniforms are mostly red and gray along with the traditional white dress shirt. It turns out that there are seven wings to the school, has dorms, and is at least 27,000 square feet. By far, it was the much larger than Fire High. In comparison, Fire High was a dinky run down school. Fire High uniforms are standard blue and red, but you can choose to have the black and red version of it. Plus, Fire High was 18,000 square feet. Suna High and Fire High were long time rivals and have been ever since the two principals, Tsunade and Orochimaru, waged war over which school was better. Sometimes they even fought about whose hair was better.

As the two lovebirds were arguing over which principal was more insane, they heard a shrill scream coming from Gaara's house. They ran until they saw who was screaming…Kankuro. He was holding onto Temari while they ran away from a huge group of guys.

"Gaara! Take him, he is way to heavy for me." Temari said exasperated while handing pointing to Kankuro, who was clinging onto her back.

"Are you calling me fat woman?" Kankuro said in an all mighty tone of voice.

"I don't know do cows go moo?" She said while yanking him off her back. He forgot she took self-defense classes during the summer. As, Sakura was helping him off the floor she looked up to see Gaara snarling at the group of guys, and she looked over at them. She found seven tall men staring at her, and they all looked two years older than her. There was a guy with white hair and pink eyes; maybe 5'8, one with deep blue hair and tattoos of gills on his neck; 6'0, a guy with deep onyx eyes and black hair in a long ponytail; 5'9, someone with an orange black swirl mask on; definitely 5'5, a guy with many piercings and orange dyed hair; 5'9, someone with a blonde high ponytail with a large bang covering one of his eyes; 5'7, and a guy that bared a large resemblance to Gaara; 5'7.

"Hey she's cute, un." The guy with blonde hair said excited while looking her over. As soon as he said that, the other guys looked her up and down, causing her to shiver.

"Aw, she's afraid of us. Don't worry babe we can have a fun time." The blue haired man said licking his lips. Gaara rushed over to step in front of Sakura, shielding her from these random guys.

"This gentleman is my stepbrother Gaara." Sasori said smirking. He then told Gaara his friends name's in order of description. "This is Hidan, Kisame, Itachi, Tobi, Pein, and Deidara. They will be staying here with me and that pink haired girl."

"Hell yeah! We are gunna have fun tonight! Praise Jashin!" the guy named Hidan exclaimed, obviously excited.

"Do you ever shut up about him?" Kisame asked while rubbing his now sore ear.

"Shut up, you pretentious assho-" Hidan began protesting until Itachi interrupted.

"Be quiet. You are almost as annoying as my idiotic little brother." Itachi said folding his arms.

"I agree. Shut up or I will make you." Pein stated glaring over at them.

"Yes, leader." The three of them said in unison. At that moment, Tobi came skipping over to Sakura, and he stared at her.

"Tobi thinks Sakura is pretty." Tobi said happily. You could see the flowers and sunshine coming out of his head. He was definitely harmless.

"Aw, thanks Tobi. But I'm already taken by Gaara. If you want we could hang out and watch a movie later." Sakura said as she smiled sweetly at Tobi.

"YAY! Tobi is a good boy right?" Tobi said as more flowers came out of his head.

"Tobi stop making a move on her, she's mine." Sasori and Deidara said at the same time. Gaara tightened his grip on Sakura's waist as she squeaked due to the newly applied pressure.

"C'mon." Gaara commanded as he gently pulled Sakura with him over to Temari and Kankuro. "I will be getting your things, but keep an eye on Sakura." He began to walk towards his doorway. "You are allowed to stay here for however long you would like. Please, excuse me." Gaara said as he shoved his way through the many people. As he got three suitcases, he could Sasori and his friends howling like hyenas over some idiotic joke.

"Hello Gaara."

Gaara whipped around after filling his brother's suitcase to see Sasori standing in the bedroom doorway, blocking off his exit.

"What is it Sasori?"

"I just wanted to let you know that your new girlfriend is quite adorable. Even cuter than that girl I took from your weak ass." Sasori said while grinning.

"Stay away from her or I will kick your ass again." Gaara threatened while shoving him into the wall.

"Gaara, you should know that her love isn't real for you. Nobody would ever love a freak, and she will be with me in no time." He said while wiping his bleeding forehead. When Gaara shoved him into the wall he wasn't expecting how strong he could be.

'I definitely should watch out for him. He's definitely gotten stronger, but I wonder how naïve he can be.' Sasori thought as he was constructing a plan to ruin his stepbrother's life. After a few minutes cleaning the wound, he went to the living room to find all his friends watching some moronic cartoon show.

"Adventure Time c'mon grab your friends~" Tobi began singing as he danced back and forth, while everyone groaned. Whenever it was Tobi's turn to pick what to watch, he would always choose a mind numbing TV show, like SpongeBob or Adventure Time.

"Deidara, I need your help."

"With what? Does it involve that cute girl, un?"

"Yeah, I need you to…." Sasori leaned in to whisper into Deidara's ear.

* * *

><p><em><span>With Sakura, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro<span>_

The four teens walked a few blocks down until they reached Sakura's house, and they were definitely surprised! Her house was larger than their home and it looked like it had at least three levels.

"Sakura how can you afford such an amazing house like this?" Kankuro said while trying to look inside the windows for a sneak peek of the inside.

"I'll explain inside just calm down." She said while giggling. "You're acting like that kid Tobi."

"Hn. He seems pretty harmless and way too innocent to be hanging out with my "brother"." Gaara said while hissing the last part.

"Well, maybe he balances out the evil weird with the happy weird." Temari pointed out. "Plus, he seems like the perfect guy to pin the blame on."

"No he's like another Naruto!" Kankuro said shivering at the thought of the two becoming best friends. In his mind they were talking about how yummy different things were while wearing shirts that said 'He's my BFF!' with arrows pointing to each other. To Kankuro, it was like the world had suddenly ended for him. While Kankuro was sulking in a bush, Sakura opened the front door to expose a huge living room with two long black leather couches with pillows and blankets on each end, a large flat screen, and two large chairs.

"Well, I guess I will give you the grand tour." She said as she closed each of their mouths. Sakura lead them to the next room, the kitchen. It had extra large silver double door refrigerator, a black freezer, two stoves/oven, a microwave, two dishwashers, and many cabinets. Next came the dining room with an oak round table that seated six with a glass china cabinet containing several figurines and photo frames, then they went upstairs. It was odd, because the only room that looked like someone lived in it was Sakura's. Her room was a light green with a simple white bed with oak framing, a white and red dresser, an oak side table with three drawers and a stained glass lamp, along with a white cherry blossom desk. The desk had a simple pink chair, the latest and greatest laptop, and a home phone.

There were three other rooms on that level but they all seemed to be guest rooms. Each room was either purple/black/white color coordinated, blue/brown/white color coordinated, or red/black/gray color coordinated. When they got to the third level, there were a two more rooms, which were orange/red/yellow coordinated and light blue/sea foam green/white. The two other rooms were a man's cave and a music studio with several instruments. After the tour, they went back to the first floor and went to the kitchen.

"Alright guys, what do you want for dinner?" Sakura asked with a warm smile.

"Dinner so early? It's only…..8:30….never mind.." Kankuro said looking at his cell phone clock in disbelief. It took them two hours to go through the whole house!

"How can you afford this Sakura?" Temari asked while taking in her surroundings. I mean, it was like she was taken to a five star resort!

"Well, my parents left me a large sum of money after they abandoned me, and when my caretaker decided to sue them after causing "emotional damage" to my "fragile" state I got annual pay of a large sum. But, she decided to leave after she took half a year's annual pay." Sakura said while rummaging through a cabinet of pots, trying to keep her preoccupied. "So what did you guys want again?"

"Spaghetti." The three said in unison.

"Back to the subject, what do you mean?" Gaara asked.

Sakura sighed. "My father is the international lawyer, Ken Haruno, while my mother is the world renowned top model, Hitomi Haruno. When I was younger I got bullied a lot, and due to that I would get depressed. A few weeks after it started they decided to entrust me to the Hyuuga's for a few weeks while they tried getting things prepared to move to a new town, but after a week or so they had left a note saying that they were giving me up to the orphanage and if I ever needed money that they set up a bank account in my name. When I got there it was nice, until a couple months later I was adopted by a cruel woman and her son. They made me do almost everything for them, but once she found out who my parents were she began to beat me saying that my parents wanted her to do it. She then sued my parents for emotional damage due to several beatings they gave me, which was all a crock of bull, nonetheless the judge told my parents that they had to give me an annual sum of 40,000 dollars. Soon, the woman told me I was old enough to get my own place, kicked me out, and took the money she held onto for me. So, I went to the bank to see how much money I had saved up from my parents and the change I could find on the floor, and it turns out that I had a good 5 million in the bank. After I found out, I bought a house. At the beginning I was 10 and by the time I got the house I was 11."

"How could you legally buy a house at that age?" Gaara said absorbing everything.

"When you're the daughter of Ken and Hitomi Haruno, you can do anything you want really." Sakura said while stirring the sauce.

"Is that why you were bullied so much?" Temari questioned.

"No one, except you three know. So, no. In elementary, it was due to my large forehead, but the first few years of high school it was because Sasuke and Ino found my pain amusing." Sakura said as her eyes glazed over, as if shrouded in a distant memory. After another good thirty minutes of talking about random things, dinner was done. Soon, Temari wanted to take a shower.

"Hey, Sak, where's the restroom?" Temari said looking as if she was going to pee her pants.

"Oh, there are personal bathrooms in every room of the house." Sakura said while putting the dishes in the dishwasher. Temari squealed in excitement and ran up the stairs to her own private bathroom. Kankuro fell asleep on the couch, so Sakura put a blanket over him so he wouldn't catch a cold.

"Sakura, do you actually like me?" Gaara said, Sasori's words finally sinking in. After hearing her story, he wasn't sure if she was like her parents, willing to leave something they love behind when things get rough. He was scared and unsure of love in the first place. Gaara was taught to run from love, and he didn't want to stay because he knew that he was falling for her. He just wasn't sure how she felt.

"Of course Gaara. I wouldn't lie about that." Sakura said a little bit shocked. Unfortunately for her, she didn't know Gaara was bi-polar and he was giving into it.

"How are you so sure? You are probably just using me so you can get back at Sasuke!" Gaara said becoming angry.

"Please, Gaara, just listen to me about this." She calmly said as she reached out to touch his arm.

"Don't touch me!" He saw quickly walking out the door with Sakura hot on is trail calling out his name.

"Gaara! Dammit listen to me! I love you, don't you get it? I love you because you're sweet, gentle, smart, cunning, strong, over-protective, rash, loving, and you don't care about my baggage! What do you want me to tell you? Gaara, I love you! Just please, please don't leave me like this! Just talk to me!" Sakura yelled at the top of her lungs while tears were streaming down her face. At this point Gaara snapped and he became paranoid knowing that he needed to get her to leave him alone for the night. He walked over to Sakura and looked into her eyes.

"Don't be an idiot. You don't love me. Your love is just an illusion." And with that, he left her standing in the street. She couldn't believe he had just said that to her after she trusted him and told him everything. This was it. This was the moment she realized no one would ever love her and that she was truly all alone. After a few minutes, she began to walk aimlessly, until she came across a cliff that showed a view of 'The field of Fireflies'. As the name states, it was a field meant for the firefly population. She loved watching their glow until they eventually went to sleep, but for once she didn't stay. She began walking with no direction tears still dripping down her face. Soon, she was in the city walking down the streets filled with people pushing and shoving to get where they want to go. Most people were doing early Christmas shopping, since it was only in a few weeks. Nonetheless, she just kept walking unaware of what was happening around her, and, at this point, she wished she was never born. As she was zoning out, Sakura never heard anything other than several people yelling things she couldn't understand, then everything went black.

* * *

><p><em><span>The Next Morning<span>_

Kankuro got up groggily. He was still tired from last night's tour and the amazing meal. After much thought, he decided to go get some soda and saw Gaara asleep in one of the chairs. Kankuro wanted to keep living and decided not to wake Gaara up, so he went to the fridge got out a Mountain Dew and turned on the flat screen on a low volume. What he saw on the news made him drop his can of soda, smack Gaara awake, run upstairs and get Temari up before the news footage stopped playing.


	9. Visits

**None of the characters are mine! They belong to Masashi Kishimoto! **Reviews & suggestions are greatly accepted!

Gaara was awakened by a hard smack on his cheek, leaving it slightly red.

'What the hell just happened?' Gaara thought as he opened his eyes to see Kankuro run up the stairs to get Temari.

** 'You messed up big time, kid.' **Shukaku said in a tired voice.

'What do you mean?' Gaara said confused, but was interrupted by Kankuro yelling at Temari to hurry up as he dragged her downstairs. Kankuro turned up the volume and all three teens sat and stared.

"Last night, a girl walked into the middle of oncoming traffic, oblivious of all the civilians telling her to stop. A big rig truck collided with her. The girl has been identified as Sakura Haruno, the daughter of Ken and Hitomi Haruno. Sakura is a junior at Fire High school and has few friends, but is a high academic achiever. She is in critical condition as of right now, nonetheless everyone is hopeful." The female reporter solemnly said as pictures of the accident were showed. They showed the truck's hood dented slightly with blood smeared on it, the street blocked off, blood stains here and there in the street, and the one that could break anyone's heart. A girl with long bloody hair was lying there with her glossy eyes half covered by her eyelids; blood stained clothes, and tears streaming her face.

"Is that Sakura?" Temari said horrified.

"Yeah.." Kankuro said with a pained expression on his face. Temari and Kankuro considered Sakura like a sister from another mister. Seeing her like that could have killed them, since they knew she wouldn't have done that without a reason.

Gaara sat there remembering everything that happened before he came back to the house. Everything was quite when he got home and just assumed that Sakura had come back and was upstairs. He had sworn to make everything better once he got up, but now he wasn't sure if that was possible anymore. He buried his face into his palms and began to sob. At this point, he didn't care if anyone thought he was going soft, because at this point he was broken. Gaara sobbed openly and didn't stop until Temari's phone began ringing.

"Hey Shika. Yeah, we saw. Really? Ok we'll be right over." She said quickly grabbing her purse and keys. "Hurry up or I'm leaving you behind."

The three of them sped off to Shikamaru's house, where they found everyone. Ten-Ten, Hinata, and Konan were crying, while all the guys had solemn looks on their faces.

"I called you all here, because Naruto's mom, Tsunade, owns the hospital Sakura is staying at." Shikamaru said while relief spread over everyone. "As everyone knows she is in critical condition, so it will take about a week until all of us can see her again. Until then, we have to wait patiently."

* * *

><p>That week was a living hell for most of them. Everywhere they turned they either could see the ghost of Sakura with them or heard her voice, and almost everyone was going insane. Surprisingly, the whole school was affected by it, even Ino and her group. On a few different occasions they saw Ino or Sasuke secretly crying over the pinkette. The school had set up a "Welcome Back!" partydance in honor of her.

Eventually, the torturous week was over and the group rushed over to the hospital. First, the girls went in to check up on Sakura, since there were fewer of them.

The four girls walked into the white hospital room, there they found Sakura sitting upright staring outside the window. She had bandages up and down her arms, a large bandage around her head, and her long hair was now shoulder length. Right at that moment she looked over towards the girls with a blank expression. They rushed over to Sakura and hugged her until she couldn't breathe.

"I'm sorry, can you let go of me?" Sakura said trying to regain her breathe. "And who are you people?"

"We are your best friends, Sakura." Hinata said hurt.

"No you aren't. My best friends are Itachi, Kisami, Deidara, Tobi, Pein, Hidan, and Sasori." She said without hesitation. The four girls stared in astonishment.

"Guys, get in here now!" Ten-Ten said loudly as she fast walked over to the door. They all were crammed into the small white room, and as soon as Gaara saw Sakura he rushed right over to her bedside.

"Sakura, are you alright?" Gaara said taking her hand and looking deeply into her eyes. Sakura blushed and looked into her lap.

"U-u-um yes, but who are you?" She said looking into his eyes. This caused Gaara to shed silent tears. "Oh no! Please don't cry." Sakura said as she gently wiped his tears away. "You seem a little familiar though…" Gaara looked up and abruptly kissed her.

When they broke apart, her face was flushed, causing him to smirk.

"W-w-why did you do that?" Sakura stammered slowly.

"Because I'm your boyfriend." Gaara sighed as he began to cry tears of sorrow. She pulled him into a hug as he clutched at her sides, afraid that if he let her go then she'll disappear.

"Do you really not remember us Sakura?" Naruto said while holding Hinata who was beginning to shake with grief. Memories began to flood to her mind, but they were only stories she was told by the seven boys that came in earlier.

"Sasori and his friends told me all about you guys. You all used to pick on me, beat me, and you guys even cut off my hair!" She said defensively.

"Sakura-chan…" Kiba said while reaching out to touch her shoulder. Sakura screamed due to the contact and gripped onto Gaara's arm.

"Please don't! Don't push me into the truck again, I didn't mean to look at you!" Sakura said as if in pure agony. Everyone looked at her dumbstruck, how could she think this?

"Leave. I'll figure it out." Gaara said calmly, as he ushered everyone out. Afterwards, he was lying next to Sakura in her bed, she was still sobbing.

"Everything's alright, Sakura. Do you remember me at all?" He asked.

"Funny. You seem familiar, but I'm sorry I don't." Sakura said as she moved a little closer. This made his chest pain remembering exactly what he did to her.

"I need to tell you something Sakura." He began explaining everything that had happened a week before. There were a few minutes of silence between the two.

"I know." Sakura said as she broke the ice.

"You know what?"

"That you were the one who ran me over. Sasori told me, but I didn't believe him about anything." She said reassuring him.

"What did he say?" Gaara said trying to contain his anger.

"He said that you tried to kill me before, and that he was my boyfriend now." This set Gaara off, but Sakura played with his palm, which always calmed him down.

"Well who will you choose, me or him?" Gaara said.

"I…I don't know. But can I try something?" Sakura asked as she slowly raised her head towards Gaara's closing the space between their lips. It was a sweet kiss that made her melt inside.

"Sakura! What are you doing?" Sasori yelled as he headed straight for them.

"Sasori, please calm down." Sakura begged.

"No! Sakura why are you cheating on me with a man that called you pathetic and useless?" Sasori said pretending to be angry.

"No I didn't. Sasori stop brainwashing her with your idiotic lies! I love her Sasori, and if you come back here again I will murder you!" Gaara said while grabbing Sasori's neck and pinning him against the wall.

"Stop! Please just stop!" Sakura said, her heart monitor picking up speed, causing her to start shaking.

"Sakura!" Gaara said running up to her. He held her to try and calm her down. "Don't leave me, please. I love you!" Gaara began to cry letting his tears drop onto her bandages. The nurses came in and made both men leave the room.

Outside in the hallway, Sasori and Gaara were going at it.

"What the hell did you tell her?"

"I told her lies about how you and all your friends ruined her life. Sooner or later, she will become scared of you and come running to me." Sasori said grinning like a wolf.

"I won't let you. You know she loves me."

"But that will soon change, my dear 'brother'." He said hoping to get under Gaara's skin.

"I swear to god, I will-" Gaara began to viciously intimidate Sasori until a nurse interrupted him.

"Look, you two, don't rile her up or else she may have another incident that could be fatal." She said, turning on her heel and walking down the hallway. Both of them entered to see her with her eyelids drooping slightly.

"Hey." Gaara said as he slowly held her hand in his causing Sakura to look up at him and shyly smile. He pressed his forehead against hers, feeling that she was ice cold.

"Sakura. I need you to choose between Gaara and me." Sasori said getting straight to the point.

"Please Sasori don't do this." Sakura pleaded.

"No, listen to me right now. If you choose him you will have to be in suffering." He said with a malicious grin. Sakura began to shiver against Gaara, and she bit her lip until blood trickled down her lips.

"Sakura, are you alright?" Gaara said nervously. He knew she would choose Sasori instead of him, after that ultimatum he just gave her.

"What do I do?" She whispered so only he could hear.

"Whatever you want." He slowly whispered. It pained him to think about her leaving him.

"I won't leave you, Gaara. But, may I have some rest?" She said loud enough for Sasori to hear, and he left in the room knocking over a small desk with several flowers vases on it.

"Of course." Gaara said as he gave Sakura a small kiss on the cheek and left her.

As soon as he left, she wept. She just didn't know what to do. She loved Gaara with all her heart, but she knew Sasori would stop at nothing to make her life a living hell. All that night, she wept until her tears gave out and she slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

><p><em><span>With The Group<span>_

Everyone decided to go to Sakura's place and wait for Gaara. They couldn't believe what Sakura had said about them, but their thoughts were interrupted when they heard the front door unlock.

"How did it go?" Neji asked.

"Sasori and his friends brainwashed her into thinking you were the ones who abused her and pushed her into the truck. I don't know if she is going to even remember most of what happened today, I asked the nurse what was wrong with her. Several of her ribs are cracked, she has several cuts, head trauma, and amnesia that may flare up when things get hectic." Gaara explained.

"Well, then we will have to keep tabs on those jerks. I definitely won't let them lay a hand on Sakura-chan! BELIEVE IT!" Naruto said while jumping on the table.

….Silence….

"Sorry." Naruto said while he got off the table, but head first onto the floor, making everyone laugh.

"What do we do if she forgets?" Ten-Ten asked on the verge of tears.

"I don't know. I guess just see how everything goes for now." Gaara said solemnly.

* * *

><p><em><span>With 'Akatsuki'<span>_

Sasori kicked open the door.

"Yo, don't break the door next time. We still gotta fix things up to our base." Kisame yelled. Their gang was called 'Akatsuki', and they had many connections to all the wrong people.

"Shut the fuck up, fish face!" Sasori yelled with venom.

"What is wrong?" Itachi inquired with a calm voice.

"Sakura's remembering that asshole Gaara and chose him! Even after we bribed that guy to run her over! Fuck!" Sasori yelled as he punched the wall, creating a dent and his knuckles to bleed.

"Sasori, calm down this instant." Pein said glaring at him.

"Yes, leader. It's just I don't know what to do about this." Sasori said slumping against the wall, while Tobi was treating his wound.

"Why do you even care about that girl, un? I mean, yeah she is pretty cute, but still." Deidara said, while playing with clay left over from the day the gang blew up their high school.

"If she can love Gaara then there has to be something about her that makes her different." Sasori said putting his hand on his forehead.

"We could always kidnap Sakura-chan, or force Gaara to dump her." Tobi said harshly.

"Un, that's not a bad idea. But, we would have to wait for the perfect moment to do that, yeah." Deidara said pondering the idea.

"Hell yeah! We are gunna cause some shit for them! Jashin can see it right now! Hidan said giving a thumbs up.

"Cut it out with that damn Jashin stuff! Praise Jashin, Jashin's awesome, he knows all, bleh bleh bleh! Nobody cares!" Kisame yelled.

"Oh, you wanna go, broskie?" Hidan said while standing up. "Jashin will help me kick your ass!" He then laughed maniacally while dancing up and down on the couch. Pein threw a pair of chopsticks at him. They hit Hidan square in the forehead, and caused him to fall behind the couch.

"Help that idiot." Pein commanded.

"Yes leader." Tobi said as he dragged Hidan out of the room.

"So, what is our next attack move?" Pein asked.


	10. PigDog?

**None of the characters are mine! They belong to Masashi Kishimoto! **Reviews & suggestions are greatly accepted!

Sakura sat up in her hospital bed staring outside at the birds. So far, it had been a week since her accident and was being discharged tomorrow. She still didn't know what to do about the Gaara VS Sasori situation, but she couldn't worry about that right now. She remembered everything now, but the night of her accident kept re-playing in her mind. Gaara had called her love fake; he had rejected her love for him. How was she supposed to face him now? Sakura hadn't let anyone visit her ever since he remembered this, even though she desperately needed someone to talk to about this.

"What am I supposed to do?" Sakura whispered as she began to silently cry.

* * *

><p>Gaara was ecstatic, well as happy as he can be, that Sakura was being let out of the hospital tomorrow. He couldn't wait to show her all the places they used to go to, the park, the library, 'The field of Fireflies', and the observatory. But an idea had popped into his head. Sakura remembered everything, which meant she probably remembered what he told her.<p>

'Is that why she won't let me see her?' Gaara solemnly thought.

**'Finally the boy gets it!' Shukaku yelled. **

'How do you think she took it?'

**'What do you think, idiot?' Shukaku said with a condescending voice.**

'Fuck!' Gaara thought as he raced out the door, got on his motorcycle, and drove to the hospital. He rushed through the glass sliding doors ignoring all the nurse's pleas to slow down and that Sakura doesn't want any visitors. A few floors later, he wound up in front of Sakura's door staring inside. She was still crying, but now she had small gasps that escaped her mouth. This crushed Gaara's injured heart. He tapped on the window with his shaking unsteady hand. Sakura shot her head up and noticed Gaara with tears in his eyes, so she motioned for him to come in.

"Are you ok?" Gaara said while slightly opening the door a crack, just in case she yelled at him to get out.

"Gaara, come here." Sakura said. Her words laced with pain. He slowly opened and closed the door. Sakura patted on the bed telling him to lie next to her, which he obliged.

"Gaara, are we still together?" Sakura said while staring off to the side.

"Of course." He whispered. He couldn't understand why she would ask that.

"Then why did you say my love for you wasn't real?" She said turning towards him, while her tears streamed down her face.

"Because I'm scared of true love." He paused as he wiped the tears away from her flushed cheeks. "Nobody has ever truly loved me like you do, and I've never loved anyone like I love you."

Sakura was at a loss for words, so instead she said everything she needed to with a kiss that lasted for what seemed like eternity.

"I love you too Gaara." She said lovingly.

"You look like you haven't slept in awhile." Gaara said while tracing the rings around her eyes.

"Yeah, I've been busy thinking of stuff I guess." Sakura said sheepishly.

"Then come here." Gaara said as he wrapped his arms around her and gently resting her head against his chest. Soon, she was fast asleep and lightly snoring like a child.

* * *

><p><em><span>The Next Day<span>_

Sakura was released today, Monday, which meant she needed to attend school. But, Gaara and Sakura decided to go during third period so they could talk and reconnect.

Soon, the couple was back at school during gym class. Sakura was excused from gym due to her injuries and Gaara was to be her 'youthful guardian'. They talked about pointless things while teasing each other.

_With Hinata, Temari, Ten-Ten, and Konan_

"Aren't they just adorable!" Temari wheezed.

"Yeah, I wish Neji was like that with me." Ten-Ten said, her breath even.

"W-what do you mean?" Hinata wheezed, barely able to say more than one word at a time.

"Well, he never takes me out anywhere or does couple stuff with me like Sakura and Gaara do. I mean it's his fault she was put in the hospital, but they are better than ever now." Ten-Ten said while looking at the gym floor.

"Shikamaru doesn't do that kinda stuff either…." Temari said slowly trying not to waste oxygen.

"Neither does your douche of a brother! What is wrong with men today? Are they just useless pigs that can't fuckin show their appreciation?" Konan yelled while throwing her hands in the air.

Every girl yelled in agreement, except Hinata. She would need to tell Sakura about this and help everyone out.

* * *

><p><em><span>With Kiba, Neji, and Kankuro<span>_

"Do they always do that?" Kiba said pointing his thumb over towards Sakura and Gaara.

"Whenever they are alone together, yeah. They never do it around us though cuz Gaara's got an 'image' fixation." Kankuro said trying to catch his breath.

"Well, I can understand why, but I think he's making us look bad." Kiba said.

"How on Earth does he make you bad? You don't even have a girlfriend." Neji said maintaining his breath but slowly getting tired.

"Heh. I just haven't found my girl that I can protect from the nasty evil people out there." Kiba said while waving his hand out at the sky.

Both boys sweat dropped. "Has your mom been making you watch chick-flicks with her again?" They both said in complete unison.

…..Silence….

Neji and Kankuro started laughing at him.

"Hey! A chick-flick is the way to a woman's heart! You can learn a lot about a woman by the movies she watches!" Kiba said defending his hurt ego.

*Whistle*

"Alright, youthful ones! We will be playing bask-. Oh, Kakashi, would you care to do battle for the beloved Rin-chan~" Guy said as he somehow was able to make his body wiggle.

"Nah, Guy. We were just going to get coffee at the lounge." Kakashi said with Rin's arm looped through his.

"Nonsense! Come, Kakashi! I have decided we will be playing dodge ball! The terms are if Kakashi's team loses Rin shall date me!" Guy said while doing a dramatic pose.

"Are those the only terms?" Kakashi said lazily. It was completely obvious he didn't want to have anything to do with this.

"Commence the youthful attack!" Guy yelled to his teammates as they began throwing dodge balls at Kakashi and his team. This lasted for a good thirty minutes, and, inevitably, Kakashi's team won.

* * *

><p><em><span>4<span>__th__ Period: Art_

Hinata was still talking to Sakura about the whole situation of the couples until she bumped into someone.

"Oh I-I'm so sorry." Hinata said while looking up.

"Oh it's alright, un." Deidara said with a big grin.

"Why are you here?" Sakura questioned curiously.

"Well, us 'Akatsuki' members have to get education while on suspension, so here I am."

"Hm." Gaara said slightly suspicious of him.

"Oh, and I might need someone as a partner, yeah." Deidara said while walking away like a boss.

"Well, that was p-pretty weird…" Hinata slowly said.

"Definitely." Gaara and Sakura said in unison.

Everyone took their seats as Kakashi came in.

"Do whatever you want, as usual." He nonchalantly said as he pulled out his favorite book, Icha-Icha Paradise. Soon, the whole class was abuzz with laughter and conversations. Gaara decided he would go hang out with the guys this period, so that left Sakura and Hinata to plan for Operation Epic Dates All Around! But, when they finished they had nothing to do. Until they overheard Ino's conversation with her friends.

"Did you see how Kiba totally protected me from that dodge ball? He is soooo cyute~" Ino said with hearts in her eyes.

"Ew no way! Dog breath is so not your type!" Ami said while pinching her nose.

"Yeah Ino. I mean, what are you thinking? You're dating Sasuke." Karin piped in.

"No we aren't. He was never really my boyfriend, and he never had feelings for me. The only person he has ever loved was Sakura. Besides I think Kiba is cute and nice and funny!" Ino said getting angry at her so called friends.

"He is revolting! Don't go for him Ino, you know he will ruin your rep." Ami said as she began chuckling.

"Well maybe she should go for him. Two brainless morons make the perfect pair." Karin said making Ami crack up.

"Totally, a prissy cat and a mangy mutt as a couple! Priceless!" They both said the last word in unison. Hinata and Sakura could hear Ino sniffle.

"Aw look she's ruining her make-up. Now you look even uglier!" Ami said while snickering. Sakura had enough. She shot her head around to viciously stare at the two girls.

"Shut the fuck up you whores. Ino can be with whoever she wants, without your approval, and even though she's a pig she's prettier than you even with mascara running down her face. Hell, she's prettier even if she had ugly stitches all across her face! She's better than either of you two will ever be, and you know it! C'mon Ino." Sakura ranted as she took Ino's hand and walked out the class with Hinata trailing behind them. Kakashi just assumed that it was a female problem.


	11. Dates All Around

**None of the characters are mine! They belong to Masashi Kishimoto! **Reviews & suggestions are greatly accepted!

* * *

><p>All three girls were in the bathroom. Hinata was standing next to Ino, Ino was sitting on the tabletops for the sinks, and Sakura was wiping Ino's face off.<p>

"Damn! I know you're a pig, but c'mon Ino! This much make-up, really?" Sakura yelled in exasperation from all the make-up she's had to take off of Ino.

"Hey! It's totally not my fault billboard brow! I look hotter with make-up on!" Ino said while pumping her fist in the air.

"You look much b-better without it, Ino-san." Hinata timidly piped in.

"Awww cyute!" Ino squealed while enveloping Hinata in a hug and glaring at Sakura. "See why can't you be totally cool like Hinata?"

"Ugh! Hinata remind me never to help her!" Sakura said finally giving up. The three teens now were giggling at their stupidity.

"That was totally nice of you guys though. Thanks Hinata." Ino said smiling at Hinata.

"Hey pig! What about me?"

"Oh, I could never forget about you billboard!"

"Pig!"

"Billboard Brow!"

"I might shoot myself in the face." Hinata began to deflate. This caused a fit of laughter to echo throughout the bathroom.

"D-does this mean we are f-friends Ino-san?" Hinata nervously managed to breathe out.

"Totally! Well, I'm not sure about big face over there." Ino said while sticking her thumb out towards Sakura, which earned her a Sakura attached to her back.

"Awwwww my Ino luffs meh!" Sakura purred pretending to be like Tobi. Soon, flowers began to pop out of her head along with pink hearts.

"Am I gunna have to force you off my back, Sakura?" Ino hissed, causing Sakura to remember Ino's way of getting people off her, by slamming them against the wall.

"Hehe…It's okay.." Sakura hesitantly stammered as she slid off Ino's back and began to slowly back away with hands raised.

"Oh no you don't!" Ino yelled as she charged after Sakura. But, as she turned a corner in pursuit of Sakura she collided into none other than Kiba. Luckily for her, Kiba has amazing instincts and caught her upon impact.

"Yo, you ok?" Kiba asked in a lazy manner. Ino automatically blushed upon hearing his voice and immediately looked up at him. Between their eyes was electricity. Her ice blue eyes met his sharp black ones. Ino's heart skipped quite a few beats while his was going crazy, and to Hinata it was obvious that they fell for each other, hard.

"Oh, um yeah. I'm totally fine." Ino finally snapping back to reality. "Um, well bye.." She nervously whispered while trying to walk past him.

"Hey wait!" Kiba yelled as he jerked out to grab Ino's wrist. He managed to grasp her at the last second and spun her around. As he spun her, she fell into his chest causing her face to flush to a bright tomato red. To make sure he couldn't see her face, she kept her head down.

"Do you wanna eat lunch with me?" He said grinning, which made his sharp canines more pronounced.

"Totally!" Ino shrieked, kissed him on the cheek, and ran off to find Sakura. Kiba was at a loss for words and was content to just stand there with an idiot's grin plastered on his face.

"Wow, you sure work fast Kiba." Hinata teased.

"Feh! Shut it, Hinata! You don't know anything." Kiba stalked off, obviously embarrassed that she was a witness to a 'private' moment. Hinata walked back into their art classroom to see a surprising sight. Ino was chasing Sakura all around the room, Kankuro and Konan were having a paint fight, Gaara and Shikamaru were staring out at the clouds, Temari was trying to tackle Naruto for a paper mache football, and Deidara was making clay bombs. She sighed and decided to work on homework assigned from other classes.

* * *

><p><em><span>Lunch<span>_

Everyone was sitting under the cherry tree, except for Kiba. But, "lucky" for Kiba, Hinata had told everyone about his date with Ino. This caused an uproar but died down after everyone decided that if Kiba's happy then they should be too.

"Hey! Does anyone have any ramen?" Naruto frantically yelled.

"Why do you need ramen?" Gaara inquired.

"Because if I don't get some I'm gunna die~!" Naruto then dramatically fell to the floor as if dead.

"If you're dead then you shouldn't mind." Gaara replied as he put up his feet on Naruto's face.

"I do mind!" He yelled jumping up. "If you wanna go Gaara, let's go! I can take you down BELIEVE IT!" And with that Naruto pounced on Gaara and proceeded to wrestle with him until the principle came out. They both got 5th period detention for "behaving like hoodlums". Both boys were hauled off, unfortunately Naruto had to be carried over the shoulder of a security guard because he kept screaming that he never got his precious ramen.

* * *

><p><em><span>5<span>__th__ Period: Science_

To Sakura's dismay, Sasori and Itachi are in this class. Not to mention, Sasuke was in this class.

"Alright everyone since Naruto and Gaara are absent, why don't Itachi and Sakura pair up, Sasori and Sasuke can pair up." Orochimaru hissed as if he were part snake. Whenever he talked it made Sakura shiver, and it didn't help that he would always notice and stare at her with his famous pedo grin.

"Hello, Sakura." Itachi sternly greets with his hand held out.

"Hello, Itachi. It's nice to see you again without him." Sakura sends a resentful look towards Sasori, who merely winks back at her.

"He isn't as bad as you would think." Itachi says airily.

"Oh, really and how on Earth is that ever a thought in your head?" Sakura questions incredulously.

"Just come to the base." He says while discreetly handing her their card.

"Wow you guys actually have a card?" Sakura questioned in astonishment.

"Hn."

"Ugh! You Uchiha men and your stupid sounds!" Frustrated, Sakura just decided to read the card he had given her.

_Akatsuki: The gang that can kick your gang's ass!_

_Location: Only Jashin's business!_

_Number: (310) 668-9251_

Sakura couldn't help but laugh.

"Who the hell made these cards?" Sakura asked while laughing hysterically.

"Hidan. He is quite moronic, isn't he?" Itachi microscopically smirked.

Sasuke watched Itachi like a hawk. He never trusted his sibling to begin with and he definitely didn't trust him with Sakura. Sasuke definitely knew he had to watch him.

"You know they sure have a connection." Sasori said as if reading Sasuke's mind.

"No she merely is friendly." Sasuke monotonously replied.

"Whatever you say." Sasori wickedly grinned. He sure knew how to make someone's blood boil.

* * *

><p><em><span>6<span>__th__ Period: History_

In the middle of Anko's lecture, Sakura got a note thrown at her. (A.N. _ Italics= Hinata, _**Bold= Sakura**)

_Are you ready to start Operation Epic Dates All Around?_

**Hell yeah! But, I think we need a shorter name.**

_Operation Cupid?_

**You're a total genius! **

_Aw, thanks I try. ;)_

**So, you ready?**

_Yeah! Operation Go!_

"Hey Ino. M-may I borrow your phone?" Hinata whispered to Ino.

"Totally, girl!" Ino shout… whispered. Hinata texted Kiba.

_Hii! Meet me at the mall at 5! 3 Ino ;)_

She got a response almost immediately, deleted it, gave Ino her phone back, and secretly gave Sakura the O.K. sign. Sakura then did the same thing with Kiba's phone. The two girls did that to everyone and each had a different date spot.

Ten-Ten & Neji= Park

Temari & Shikamaru= Dj Records Music Store

Konan & Kankuro= Annual Mini Carnival

Ino & Kiba= Mall

Hinata & Naruto= Ichiraku Ramen

Sakura & Gaara= Sakura's Place

* * *

><p><em><span>Ten-Ten &amp; Neji<span>_

Ten-Ten was swinging slightly on the swing waiting for Neji. He was usually quite prompt in meetings and such, so why was he late. Knowing he was late made Ten-Ten slightly paranoid, but it was just in her personality to get paranoid when things didn't work perfectly. Just as she was deep in thought, she heard panting come from the left of her. Ten-Ten looked over and saw Neji run over to her, and he obviously ran quite a distant.

"I am deeply sorry for making you wait. I had to pick up a present and there was a line." Neji said composing himself.

"Oh." Ten-Ten cooed while blushing. "Well, what is it?"

"I'm not sure if I should tell you." Neji teased while tapping her nose.

"Neji Hyuga tell me right now or I will tackle you for it!" Ten-Ten reprimanded. She hated not knowing things, it was one of her all time pet peeves.

"Only if you close your eyes." Neji practically demanded, but Ten-Ten knew that he just didn't want the surprise to be ruined. They had their own secret language that only they could ever understand. So, to appease him, she closed her eyes and held out her hands. When she felt weight in her hands she opened her eyes.

"Oh…my…..gosh! Neji! I can't believe you got this for me!" Ten-Ten gasped yet yelled at the same time. The present was a limited edition ninja weaponry Tarot cards. She had been waiting for these to come out for months and was counting down the days, but now she didn't have to.

"Wait a minute. How did you get these, they don't come out for another 5 months?" Ten-Ten questioned skeptically.

"I'm a Hyuga, remember?" Neji says, seeming unaffected by her skepticism.

"Oh, right. Heehee…" Ten-Ten nervously giggled while scratching the back of her head. This earned her a kiss on the forehead.

"What was that for hun?" Ten-Ten childishly asked.

"For being you." Neji gave Ten-Ten a warm smile, which was rare for Neji. The rest of their date was spent on practicing martial art techniques, arguing about "divine intervention" and destiny, coming up with the worst names ever, and deciding on where to go eat dinner. She wanted to try the Curry of Life restaurant, but he refused saying that destiny is not allowing him to go there, causing Ten-Ten to laugh until she began to cry. In the end, they went to go get Chinese food.

* * *

><p><em><span>Konan &amp; Kankuro<span>_

Kankuro made sure to get to the little carnival the town holds every year early. He definitely waned to make a good impression, which was why he wasn't wearing his purple face paint. Honestly, he felt kinda naked without it, but he needed to make sure this night was perfect. While deep in thought, he felt weight attack him from behind him.

"Hey! I didn't think you'd be here early." Konan said while holding onto Kankuro's neck tightly. She had jumped on his back when he wasn't looking.

"Well, I wanted to make sure I got here first, so I could choose what to do for the day." Kankuro smirked. Konan was definitely a control freak, and he knew she would want to plan out the date.

"You little shit! I had the whole day planned!" She yelled loudly as she got off his back and hit him as hard as she could.

"Aw, how could you're red with anger. How cute~" Kankuro sang as he poked her nose.

"Damn you! Fine, if I beat you in a game then I can plan today out." Konan haughtily said.

"Deal!" Kankuro spat into his hand and held it out for a handshake. What both scared and impressed him was that she did the same exact thing. For once, Kankuro had met his match. After a heated argument, they decided to go to the batting cages. The winner had to hit three balls in a row, and, after an hour, they decided to give up since neither of them could do it. Kankuro and Konan agreed on going on all the rollercoasters, then the Ferris wheel. While in line for the rollercoasters, Konan did Kankuro's face paint.

"Can you tell me why you're doing my face paint? I purposely didn't wear it to show you I'm serious about making this date fantastic." Kankuro heroically said while putting his fist on his chest.

"Because you're not you without it. It's one of the reasons I…I….I love you." Konan sweetly mumbled, hoping Kankuro couldn't hear. She looked up to Kankuro to find him grinning like a crazy man, which meant her heard.

"Stop grinning like that you cocky bastard!" Konan spat out as she purposely messed up his face paint design. He retaliated by messing up her eyeliner. By the time they made it to the front, both their faces were covered in a mash up of black eyeliner and purple face paint, especially around their lips if you know what I mean. Five minutes before the carnival closed down, they made it into the last car of the Ferris wheel.

"Did you have fun today?" Kankuro timidly blurted out.

"Of course. It was utterly perfect." Konan said while looking him in the eye. Kankuro grabbed her hands as he slowly leaned in, and Konan reciprocated. Their lips met and for both of them it felt like lightning had just struck them, and they never wanted it to end. Of course, it was like that every time they kissed, but I guess it was magnified due to the loving moment they had.

* * *

><p><em><span>Ino &amp; Kiba<span>_

Ino impatiently tapped her foot against the concrete of the outdoor mall.

"God! How long does it friggin take to get to a mall!" Ino roared. She was obviously frustrated and very impatient, and it didn't help that Kiba was thirty minutes late. After her outburst, she saw people looking at her funny, so she decided to sit down and try to stay calm.

"Oh my god, is he standing me up?" Ino pondered. It was completely possible, and it happened to her a lot now that she thought about it. With tears slowly dripping down her face, she stood up with shaky legs and began to walk away. The only thing she could focus on was Kiba, his stupid grin, his personality, his looks, his hair, his eyes, everything. Ino shook her head trying to physically remove the thoughts from her head but couldn't. Suddenly, she felt a yank on her shoulder. The yank spun her around and made her land on a familiar chest, she looked up to see those same eyes that had been in her mind the whole time.

"You're really late." Ino hoarsely whispered.

"I know, but I had to pick these up on the way." Kiba gently kissed her on the top of her head and brought out a bouquet of purple irises.

"How did you know these are my favorite flower?" She gasped in utter shock.

"Hehe, you know I have a ton of surprises." Kiba smirk and grabbed onto her waist. "So, where are we off to?"

"I'm totally glad you asked." Ino wickedly stated, grabbed him by the wrist, and dashed off to the sales. After a good three hours, Kiba was carrying twelve bags of clothes, jewelry, hair supplies, accessories, and shoes.

"Damn! How many stores are we gunna go to?" Kiba yelled trying to get Ino's attention away from all the stores she hasn't gone to.

"Well, I guess we can stop." Ino slowly said, obviously wrapped up in indecision on whether to keep going or to stop.

"Feh! Finally, damn woman you sure do know the meaning of shop till you drop." Kiba groaned as his poor legs finally got a chance to rest.

"Well, I usually shop way more than this." Ino dragged out the word way as she rolled her eyes over to him. She could her him groan, which made her giggle. "But, I guess I've put you through enough torture." She decided to get to know the guy who had swept her off her feet, and, after another hour or so, she was completely entranced by him. Ino honestly loved everything about him. Throughout the whole conversation, she had enormous butterflies in her stomach. When there came a silence, she decided to make this her opportunity.

"Kiba, I like you a lot." Ino said while staring directly at him. Kiba shifted in his seat and looked down at the ground. She knew her answer just from that motion. Nausea replaced those enormous butterflies she got, and she had the urge to just run away. Oddly enough, she couldn't. The girl just couldn't find the courage to do something for once.

"I see… Sorry to bother you." Ino said lowly with tears trying to escape from her eyes. She managed to stand up and was about to walk away, until a pair of hands grabbed her waist. Kiba brought her down onto his lap and passionately kissed her. He kissed her with everything he had, and Ino was more than willing to kiss him back. She even licked his bottom lip, asking for him to French kiss her, but he pulled away.

"I want to go slow. I wanna make sure I don't screw this up like everything else I do." Kiba said while looking into her baby blue eyes. "Oh, and I like you more." He said while showing his canines in a grin. Ino began to cry out of relief and threw her hands around his neck.

* * *

><p><strong>The next chapter is going to have the remaining three dates and some major drama with the Uchiha and Sabaku siblings. So, stay tuned ;)<strong>


	12. Stolen

**None of the characters, or songs, are mine! They belong to Masashi Kishimoto and their rightful artists! **Reviews & suggestions are greatly accepted!

* * *

><p><em><span>Temari &amp; Shikamaru<span>_

"How troublesome." Shikamaru lazily said as he opened the door to the local music store for Temari. "Can't we just go to the park and look at the clouds?"

"God, Shika! That's all you ever wanna do so no, besides this is gunna be fun. We can see all the old posters of bands and look at the records/cd's." Temari said while practically running over to the A section of the store.

Shikamaru strode over to her side, trying to contain his happiness. They never got to go out on dates, and, if they ever did, it was usually to the movies where they would both fall asleep. The still groggy boy always loved spending time with his girlfriend, but was never very good at showing emotions. She knew that he was a laid back kind of guy, and he was glad that she accepted that. Nonetheless, he could tell that she was disappointed when they couldn't do more things together.

"Avril Lavigne?" Shikamaru inquired.

"Yeah. She's so amazing and you can tell she writes music for herself. Plus, she has this lazy voice that always reminds me of you." Temari grinned at her boyfriend.

"Well, then give." He said as he plucked the cd from her black polished hands, and went to go pay for it.

"Shika, you don't have to. I really don't need it." She tried persuading Shikamaru, but was too late.

"If you want it, then I'll get it for you. You just have to ask." He gently smiled at her, which surprised her. Usually, he would just smirk, but he genuinely took the effort to smile at her. Temari made sure to take a mental photo of it.

After looking around at the other cd's and posters, they went to a small café. The café Temari chose was a karaoke café, to Shikamaru's dismay. All he wanted to do was have a nice cup of coffee and share a slice of strawberry cake with his girlfriend, but that thought was chucked out of the window.

"Oh, Shika-kun, you should sing!" Temari said with a look of excitement in her eyes. Shikamaru couldn't help but laugh. She looked like a little kid who had just saw Santa at the mall.

"What's so funny?" Temari questioned.

"You're just being cute." Shikamaru said while leaning back in their booth, putting his hands behind his head.

"You know I'm always cute." Temari retorted with a wink.

"Yeah." Shikamaru mused in agreement. Eventually, Temari convinced Shikamaru to sing a song, which he dedicated to her since he loved her just the way she is. **(A.N. Pretty obvious hint **;)** )**

* * *

><p><em><span>Hinata &amp; Naruto<span>_

The two teens were sitting at the bar of Naruto's favorite ramen restaurant. Hinata was making idle conversation while Naruto was making grunts in response, since his face was too busy devouring his ramen.

"H-how was detention?" She asked while eating a piece of beef.

"Urgh!" Naruto groaned loudly as he swallowed a huge lump of ramen caught in his throat.

"It couldn't have been that bad." Hinata reassured. It was surprising she knew what he was saying, but I guess that's why they were perfect together.

"Uh." He breathed out. "It wasn't Gaara. It was that jerk bag of a teacher, Anko. That chick is friggin' nuts!" Naruto said exasperated from using a lot of hand gestures.

"She can't be that bad, can she? I-i mean she's always nice in home ec." Hinata reasoned.

"Not even! She's probably just really sexist! I would believe it!" He pumped proudly. Every time he was able to fit his signature phrase in a conversation, it made him feel accomplished.

"W-what did she even do to you?" Hinata steadily asked. She was actually afraid to find out what happened.

"She threw a ruler at me when I started talking to Gaara, and the metal tip scraped my face. This is the totally sick and pervy part! She licked off the blood, with her tongue and everything!" Naruto said pretending to try and clean his face with his hand. It was completely obvious he was skeezed out.

"What did she do?" Hinata asked, a dark aura emitting off her.

"Don't worry babe." Naruto gulped as he sweat dropped. The whiskered boy enveloped his girlfriend in a tight hug as he kissed her cheek multiple times, causing her to giggle. They decided to head back to Naruto's apartment and hang out… Maybe more like make out. It depends on who you ask.

* * *

><p><em><span>Gaara &amp; Sakura<span>_

"AHHHHH!" Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs as she clinged onto Gaara for safety.

"Sakura! I think you just busted my eardrum!" Gaara raved.

"It's your fault for choosing a scary movie as usual." Sakura argued.

"Well if it's usual, you should expect this by now, or does my little blossom want my protection." He seductively said as he took Sakura's chin and tilted her head upward so she could look him in the eyes. As soon as they made eye contact, her cheeks were engulfed by a bright pink color. Due to their chests being up against one another, he could feel her heartbeat increase. They leaned in for a kiss, which soon turned to a make out session. The breaths that escaped their lips mingled together perfectly and Gaara was feeling quite frisky that night.

"G-g-gaara.. Stop…" Sakura breathlessly said. Gaara stopped and looked at her.

"Why?"

"I-I wanna wait until my wedding night to do this. I'm sorry." Sakura began tearing up. Gaara softly chuckled. He leaned down and licked the tears away from Sakura's face, causing her to become flustered and very confused.

"Sakura, I would never do anything you don't want me to. Besides, I think it's cute that you want to wait." Gaara lightly smiled, causing Sakura to jump onto him in a big bear hug, which soon turned into a tickle fight. Eventually, Gaara won since he was ruthless with his tickling.

"Hey, Gaara. You wanna go get some Boba?" Sakura proposed.

"Hn. That sounds nice, where is it?" Gaara agreed.

"C'mon then." Sakura pounced on him. They walked over to the café, Sweet Selections, near her house. All the waitresses and girls in the café swooned over Gaara, and most kept hitting on him causing Sakura to be pushed out of the way. But, instead of the cold hard impact she was expecting, she was caught in Gaara's arms.

"This is my girlfriend, so leave me the fuck alone." Gaara said, his voice like gravel and acid mixed together. The girls all walked away too scared of him to pursue him.

"Are you okay?" Gaara inquired as he pulled a chair out for her.

"Oh, yeah. Just kinda got scared there. I never knew you had such quick reflexes." Sakura stared at Gaara like Tobi would stare at anything, amazed and lovingly.

"Yeah, I took karate when I was little." Gaara explained while smiling back at her.

"I even took it with him, doll." An arm wrapped around Sakura's shoulder. She looked over to see it was none other than Sasori.

"What are you doing here?" Gaara became aggravated.

"I'm sorry, but I need to borrow Sakura for a little while. Itachi!" Sasori yanked Sakura out of her chair and slung her over his shoulder.

"Sasori, you asshole!" Gaara lunged at his step-brother but was stopped by Itachi.

"Get the fuck out of my way! Before I rip your head off!" Gaara said as his eyes shifted to a gold color. Shukaku was taking over, which is obviously a bad sign.

"Hn. You don't scare me you ingrate." Itachi said as he got into a judo stance.

Within seconds, tables and chairs were being broken. Itachi threw a punch to Gaara's jaw, but Gaara flawlessly caught it and kicked Itachi on the ribs. Itachi recoiled but kept balance. He then blocked an attack made by Gaara and kneed him in the gut and punched the back of his head. This caused Gaara to fall to the floor in agony. Nonetheless, he got up and hurled his fist straight for Itachi's nose. Itachi copied him, and the boys caught each other's fists. Unfortunately, Itachi wasn't expecting a head-butt from Gaara. The blow caused both their foreheads to bleed, and made Itachi's unaltered demeanor change. He charged towards Gaara with a fist held in the air, but at the last second spun around him and delivered a kick from above. Gaara was forced to the floor, he soon was able to stand. By the time he did, Itachi was already walking out the door.

* * *

><p><em><span>Outside<span>_

Sasuke was out for his usual jog. He needed to stay in shape for football and basketball, I mean he's the captain of both teams. The big hot shot of the whole school, and usually his jogs were pleasant. But, the only thing he could think of was Sakura. He still couldn't believe he had let her go and completely lost her.

'She thinks I'm a complete asshole… Fuck!' Sasuke screamed over and over in his head, until some commotion sucked him out of his thoughts. The raven haired boy thought he had heard Sakura screaming and rushed over to where he heard it. Sure enough, he saw Sakura being forced into a black van with blood red clouds painted on it.

"Sakura!" Sasuke called out. Luckily, it caught her attention, but a little kid was distracting him. The little thing kept yelling 'Tobi's a good boy!' and other things Sasuke didn't focus on.

"Sasuke!" Sakura cried out, snapping him back into reality. She was reaching out to him, but was instantly knocked out and shoved into the van. Tobi sucker-punched Sasuke in the gut causing him to fall to the concrete, clutching his stomach.

"Itachi-senpai! Hurry up, we're leaving!" Tobi yelled in a commanding tone of voice. At the mention of his older brother, Sasuke struggled to meet Itachi's gaze with his own.

"Foolish brother." And with that Itachi and Tobi jumped in the van and sped off.

"Fuck." Sasuke slurred then faded into unconsciousness.

Gaara ran outside to see where they went, but by the time he got outside they were gone. He then heard movement beneath him and saw Sasuke.

'Great now I have to help this douche.' Gaara cursed.

The red head flipped open his phone and called Temari to pick him up. It was going to be a long night.


	13. Akatsuki

**None of the characters, or songs, are mine! They belong to Masashi Kishimoto and their rightful artists! **Reviews & suggestions are greatly accepted! I'm so sorry I haven't posted! I've been uber busy with finals week :(

* * *

><p>"<em>Sakura!" Sasuke called out.<em>

"_Sasuke!" Sakura cried out. She was reaching out to him, but was instantly knocked out and shoved into the van._

_ "Foolish brother. You can't protect anyone, you weak pathetic fool." Itachi mercilessly stated._

This was the only thing playing in Sasuke's mind.

"Sakura!" The raven-haired teen screamed as he shot up from his unconscious state. He looked around the room he was in, and it all looked familiar to him.

'Oh... This is one of Sakura's guest rooms.' He reminded himself as he got up. But, his stomach argued with him and forcefully brought him down to the floor. The pain from Tobi's punch had actually made him cringe.

'Damn. Who knew that annoying brat had some strength in him.' He silently laughed to himself without moving a single muscle in his mouth.

"You're up." Sasuke heard a voice say. He turned his head towards the doorframe of the room and saw none other than his rival, Gaara.

"No thanks to you, Sabaku." Sasuke sneered.

"Hn. Well, there's breakfast downstairs and a meeting in an hour or so." The red head stated simply as he turned out the door, leaving Sasuke to glare holes into the oak wood. He noticed that a set of clothes was out lying at the foot of the bed for him. Sasuke threw on the short-sleeved black tee and beige shorts; he hobbled out of the room.

After a good 30 minutes of slowly walking down the stairs, he was finally at the kitchen and decided to pick out some breakfast. Sasuke picked up a piece of bacon and cautiously bit into it.

"Hn. Sabaku makes some good bacon." He muttered to himself.

"I know I do." Gaara said taking a seat at the counter.

"Shut the fuck up. I wasn't talking to you, douche." Sasuke venomously hissed.

"Whatever." Gaara got up to get water and walked out.

'Dammit Sakura! Why the hell would you ever go out with a guy like that? He's not even worthy like I am. After Sakura's safe, I'm definitely gunna take her back. That fucking Sabaku won't know what hit his bitch ass.' Sasuke evilly thought to himself as he carnivorously took another bite of bacon.

* * *

><p><em><span>At the Akatsuki Base<span>_

"Deidara senpai~ Tobi's back for you!" Tobi burst through the door jumping through a field of flowers towards Deidara in slow motion. But, he was stopped by Deidara's foot.

"You little squirt! Would you not do that, un?" He yelled while rubbing his sneaker into the innocent child's face.

"Oh, senpai~ I missed you too!" Tobi said while passionately hugging the older boy's foot. Deidara screamed in terror as Tobi slowly started inching up his leg.

"Both of you quiet." Sasori commanded.

"Hn. You will wake her." Itachi walked in with Sakura in his arms.

"Oh, so you got the girl to actually go with you?" Kisame asked without lifting his head from the couch.

"Not quite." Itachi said.

"It was awesome! Everything was all like woosh and crack and boom!" Tobi then began to tell the story of how the "Epic Battle Royale" went. While Tobi kept ranting on and on, Sasori took Sakura from Itachi's arms and went to the other room.

The Akatsuki Base was currently located at the Sabaku household, and Sasori took Sakura to Temari's room. He definitely didn't want her in a guy's room because he knew what she would find, especially in Kankuro's room. Sasori sat next to her and swept a few stray hairs out of her face.

'She really is cute when she's sleeping.' Sasori gently smiled, pulled the sheets over her, and left the room. He made sure to lock the door from the outside, and made his way back down the stairs.

"Yo, Sasori! Why are we even stealing the little chick from that kid?" Kisame asked while pointing towards the dartboard with Gaara's face on it.

"Simple. I hate him and swore to ruin his life." Sasori nonchalantly said as he picked up a dart and chucked it towards the board. It landed right where Gaara's tattoo was.

"Not a bulls eye. You have grown soft, un!" Deidara mocked.

"Like a spineless fucking coward! Hit that brat with all the power of Jashin!" Hidan ducked as a dart came flying towards his face.

"Shut up! I'll kick your god-dam…"

"It's Jashin to you!"

"That's it! Come here you asswipe!"

Suddenly, a book was thrown between the two teens.

"Be quiet. You may wake her." Itachi simply said as he went to look for another book.

"Buzzkill." Everyone muttered.

* * *

><p><em><span>In the Morning<span>_

Emerald green eyes fluttered open. Sakura slowly propped herself up on her elbows, in a daze, and adjusted herself so she was sitting up. Slowly, she looked around the room.

'Where the hell am I?' Sakura mentally asked. Memories flooded to her mind. She shot out of the bed and ran towards the door.

'Damn! Locked.' She bolted towards the window to find it boarded up.

'Ugh, how am I supposed to get out now?' Sakura quickly looked around the room and noticed a ventilation shaft. Unfortunately, it was really small. After about thirty minutes, she sat down on the bed and let out a disgruntled sigh.

'At least there's a T.V.' She silently jumped for joy as she turned it onto the anime network. Suddenly, the door flung open.

"So, your up." Sasori questioned, but it sounded more like a comment.

"Yeah, I'm up. Where am I anyway?" Sakura said turning her attention to the figure in the doorframe.

"Our temporary base."

"Temporary? Why temporary?"

"Cuz we are gunna be going back home soon. Can't you count how many weeks it's been?" Sasori harshly bit back. Mentally, Sakura counted to find that he was right. This was their last week here, more precisely their last three days here.

"Wow, time flew by fast huh?" Sakura asked mostly herself, since he wouldn't give her an answer. Sasori just left the room and locked it once more.

"What the? Hey! That was rude!" Sakura yelled as she pounded the door.

"Whatever, little girl!" Sasori yelled back. Suddenly, he heard an annoyed groan and chuckled. Eventually, Sakura was let out of the room and escorted to the living room. Over the course of the day, she discovered many things about the members: Hidan is actually scared of spiders, Deidara is interested in anatomy, Sasori has a life size puppet collection, Itachi has terrible eyesight, Kisame has an obsession with Jaws, Pein is into piercings, and Tobi actually loves blood. The last one positively freaked Sakura out, but she just couldn't deny the adorableness of Tobi. Soon, the Akatsuki seemed like a second family to her.

'Wow, they really aren't that bad.' Sakura thought as they all watched the whole Jaws series together.

The next morning was surprisingly uneventful. None of the Akatsuki members were in sight, and Sakura looked around the house whole yet still couldn't find them. A gunshot rang outside. Sakura rushed outside to see her friends fighting with the Akatsuki, but what really caught her attention was a red head on the floor clutching his side. She shoved her way through the people to see two red heads. One standing with a gun, and the other on the ground bleeding.

"I-I'm sorry, Sakura." Sasori whispered while shuddering. Sakura ignored him, dropped to the floor next to Gaara, and held Gaara close.

"Hey, babe. Don't cry, I'm fine." Gaara said putting his shaking hand on Sakura's cheek, wiping away her never-ending tears.

"No! No you're not! You..you're bleeding." Sakura managed to let out through her sobs.

"It's alright." He reassured her while wincing in pain every so often.

"Sasori.."

"Sakura I never meant for-" Sasori began to plead.

"No. Look, I'll keep in touch. Just…just hurry and run. I don't want you guys going to jail." She turned around with a small smile even though it wasn't as exuberant as usual.

Sasori got the gang together and ran.

"Why would you let them get away?" Sasuke seethed angrily.

"Because we need to focus on Gaara!" She bit back. "I just need you to be here for me right now! Call the police.." She spit out really fast.

Of course, Sasuke did as commanded, seeing how broken Sakura was acting.

"Gaara, Gaara, please stay with me. C'mon stay awake." Sakura began pleading while gripping Gaara's hand.

Sirens were heard in the distance. Two paramedics came out, took Gaara on a stretcher, and sped off into the distance. The rest of the teens rushed to the hospital, after they made a few calls just to be ushered out of the building. The doctor had told them that Gaara needed rest and that they had to leave, but the group could come back tomorrow.

The next day, Sakura rushed to the hospital with Temari and Kankuro, and as they rounded the corner Temari suddenly jerked them back to hide.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Kankuro asked loudly.

"Shhhhh! Just look." Temari urged.

Kankuro and Sakura peered over and suddenly Kankuro yanked her back.

"What is going on with you two? Who is that woman?" Sakura asked puzzled.

"That's Matsuri.. If Gaara told you about her, then he must have said that they wanted to go to a dance as friends, right?" Temari began to explain.

"Yeah, why?" Sakura anxiously asked.

"Well… There's more. They go way back, actually. Matsuri and Gaara were best friends. She was one of the only people who actually wasn't afraid of Gaara, and they knew a lot about each other. Eventually, she began to like him way more than that, but Gaara didn't feel the same way. So, they agreed to be just friends, but Gaara still cares deeply for her." Kankuro and Temari began to weave the story to Sakura. She just stood there taking it all in.

"He doesn't like her though! Trust is, he never has." Temari quickly added in.

"I know. Besides he's my man." Sakura said determined. She passed by Matsuri without even glancing at her and walked right into Gaara's room.


	14. Missing

**None of the characters are mine! They belong to Masashi Kishimoto and their rightful artists! I am TOTALLY SORRY I haven't been updating! I've just been so crammed with finals and school and all kinds crazy shizz recently. But, I'm back! **Reviews & suggestions are greatly accepted!

_2 weeks later_

It was a dark and stormy night. Thunder was crying out, releasing all it's anger out into the dark world, and the lightning was thrashing about trying to destroy all that came across it. Nights like these made Akatsuki think of their lost pinkette. True, they shouldn't have fought with her friends or shoot Gaara, but they started it. At least that's how Akatsuki took it. So many harsh, hateful words were said, along with idiotic "Yo Mamma!" jokes. It just sent them over the edge when they were told that Sakura would never actually like disgusting vile creatures like them. Somewhere in the back of all their minds, they knew it was too good to last, but that didn't stop them from hoping. Hoping that she would choose them over everyone else. Unfortunately, all their dreams were crushed under fate's iron fist.

_*Knock, knock*_

"Who the hell is that?" Sasori bitterly yelled. Recently, he had been drinking. It was the only way he could fall asleep, but it was more like passing out to everyone else.

"Probably another damn girl scout. Good sir, whilst thou buyeth some cookies? Cheh, those stupid brats. I should throw some of my stink bombs at 'em, un!" Deidara rambled from the dining room table they had in their apartment.

"Or you could just throw your gym socks at them. I mean, those are even worse than the bombs." Kisame platonically said while flipping through the channels.

_*Knock, knock*_

"I swear to Jashin if you knock one more damn time I will cut you bitch!" Hidan swore at the door. Suddenly, the mystery person rapidly banged on the door hoping to irritate him.

"Someone open the door or I will pierce someone's eyes." Pein menacingly glared at each team member. All eyes were placed on Sasori knowing he was scary when he was drunk, hell he was scary even when he was only buzzed.

"Fine! Assholes.." He muttered as he stumbled towards the door with a beer in hand. Sasori swung open the door.

"What the fuck do…." He began to scream at the person on the other side of the door, until he whispered the one word that haunted everyone's thoughts.

"Sakura?"

Everyone rushed to the door, other than Itachi and Pein who wanted to show a little more class than everyone else. Nonetheless, their poker faces fell revealing shocked expressions as the pink haired girl was escorted into the house. She had greeted everyone and had thanked Kisame for pulling out a chair for her at the table, and everyone had brought in extra chairs so they could sit with her. Well, everyone except Tobi. The hyper ball had insisted in sitting on Sakura's lap. A calm silence washed over the eight teens.

"So, why are you here?" Itachi questioned.

"Don't be such an ass, un!" Deidara quickly defended.

"It's alright Dei-chan." Sakura slowly put her hand on his arm and silently guided him to stay calm. "Gaara and I broke up, and I have nowhere to go anymore."

Immediately, everyone became alarmed.

"What are you talking about Sakura?" Sasori quickly asked. Well, it was more like shouting a question, but it was to be expected.

"Well you see,…" Sakura began

* * *

><p><em><span>Flashback<span>_

Ever since Matsuri showed up, Gaara had been spending less time with Sakura and more time catching up with Matsuri. Sakura understood why. But, that didn't give Gaara a reason to not call her at night, cancel the dates they had been planning, and act like Sakura wasn't even around. Turns out, Matsuri had become a model and had a gig in Tokyo. So, she thought she would pay a visit to the siblings since it was on the way to Tokyo. Sakura knew that Matsuri held a special place in Gaara's heart, but she always thought she held the number one spot. Soon, Gaara started to go to Matsuri's gigs in order to support her and he dragged Sakura along every single time. She had been dying inside every time he watched her with those eyes. The eyes that held adoration, respect, happiness, and every once in awhile what seemed like love. Sakura could never tell if it was the love he had felt for his girlfriend, or if it was more like family love. Either way she couldn't take it any longer. On the car ride home, Sakura finally gained the courage to speak up.

"Gaara." Sakura timidly whispered, almost afraid she shouldn't be saying how she felt.

"What is it, darling?" Gaara sweetly mused.

"I don't want you spending as much time with Matsuri." She blatantly said.

"Where is this coming from?" Gaara stopped the car and looked into Sakura's eyes. He saw his worst nightmare. Gaara saw Sakura's once bright, glowing emerald eyes turn into a dark forest green. In those eyes, he saw grief, despair, loneliness, and abandonment.

"All you ever do is talk about her, and we haven't hung out this whole entire week. You cancelled two dates because she needed you, but you know what? She isn't your girlfriend, I am." She started to break down crying. Gaara grabbed her and started to awkwardly stroke her back, he wasn't the best at comforting others.

"Lemme make this up to you." Gaara painfully whispered. "Meet me at the train station in two days at 12, we'll go to the one place you've always wanted to go."

"Osaka? Really? You mean it?" Sakura asked quickly becoming very excited.

"Definitely." They shared a passionate kiss and drove home.

Gaara needed to make a pit stop since he couldn't wait to get home to take care of his bursting bladder. While he was gone, his phone vibrated. Sakura picked it up and saw that it was a text message from none other than Matsuri.

'Gaara-k! I need your help my parents are makin me marry someone without my consent. Please talk to them about it! A meeting is being held in two days at 1!' it read.

Sakura felt a surge of jealousy and rage build up in her and pressed delete. She didn't think twice about it until she got home. Guilt was gnawing at her heart, she just felt so evil. When that feeling came she tried to brush it off like it was nothing, but it came back full force while she was waiting for Gaara. Sakura couldn't help thinking of poor Matsuri, but there was another side of her that was cheering because that meant she was finally out of the way. When Gaara walked up to her, she was battling with her emotions.

"You ready?" He nonchalantly asked.

"What? Oh, yeah definitely!" She swung her arm onto his as they walked over to the ticket booth. Abruptly, Sakura stopped and began to cry.

"Sakura, are you ok?" alarmed Gaara delicately put his hands on her shoulders, signaling her to look up at him. The guilt had reached it's boiling point and the guilt spilt over. Sakura couldn't handle keeping it to herself anymore.

"It's Matsuri. She…She's going to be put in an arranged marriage in an hour." She blubbered. It seemed like seconds turned to years before he grabbed his bag and rushed towards the doors.

"C'mon Sakura! What are you waiting for?" Gaara called over his shoulder.

"Go without me!"

"I wouldn't go without you! Don't say that just come o-"

"No! I don't want to watch you pine over another woman!" Sakura belted out as her tears stung her eyes.

"Then wait for me there!"

"No! I won't wait for you. I'm sorry, but it's either me or her!"

They stood there motionless, staring into each other's eyes. Sakura turned around.

'Please don't go…' She kept repeating in her head. Sakura could hear Gaara's footsteps as he went towards the door, and she whipped her head around to see his retreating figure.

'Even though I said I wasn't going to wait…' Sakura slowly slid towards the floor, cradled her head into her hands, and wept.

The other teens were stunned. How could Gaara leave Sakura for another woman? A woman that he doesn't love. What had gone through his mind to make a decision like that?

"But, why did you leave pinky?" Kisame slowly asked.

"I couldn't face being near him. Don't get me wrong, I love him, but he left me for someone who doesn't even love him." She solemnly said as she traced circles into Tobi's hand.

"Where are you going to go?" Itachi asked.

"She will be staying here." Pein quickly replied.

"Really? But, why?" Sakura astonished by his generosity.

"Your family, un!" Deidara beamed.

"And we need a singer." Sasori interrupted.

"A singer?" Pinky asked completely lost.

"You see, even though we are delinquents-" Pein began to explain

"We are some damn good fucking musicians!" Hidan intervened.

"And we need some feminine touch to our music. Let's face it Deidara doesn't make the cut." Kisame teased.

"Shut up, trout mouth!" Deidara recoiled.

"It's okay senpai~ I think you would make a very pretty girl!" Tobi gleamed with innocence, causing everyone to burst out laughing. Deidara had gone to pout in the corner. Sakura silently wondered how Gaara was with Matsuri…

* * *

><p><em><span>At the Sabaku household<span>_

Ever since Gaara had left Sakura there, he had regretted it. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he thought Sakura would stay there and wait for him. He thought her words were just an empty threat, but he didn't take into consideration how much she had been hurting due to his carelessness. Even when he got to the wedding meeting, it turned out Matsuri was happy with the man. The bridegroom was handsome, rich, passionate, loving, and everything someone like her needed. Gaara had left the love of his life behind for nothing. For days at a time, he wouldn't even come out of his room much less eat anything. Temari and Kankuro were becoming worried and for good reason. They could see their brother slipping back into his old ways. Almost every night, they either had a cop bringing him back home or find him trying to cut himself.

"God Kankuro, what do we do?" Temari was becoming increasing exasperated ever since Sakura left.

"Well, we could always try and find her." Kankuro tried reasoning.

"We don't even know where she is. Hell, nobody knows where she is! I mean… It's like she just dropped off the face of the Earth." Temari grabbed at her hair and gripped it.

"Ugh, I'm no good at this finding people thing." Kankuro said raking a hand through his messy brown hair.

"Sakura… Where did you go?" Temari hoarsely whispered as a few tears fell from her tanned skin.


	15. Lingering Love

**None of the characters, or songs, are mine! They belong to Masashi Kishimoto and their rightful artists! **Reviews & suggestions are greatly accepted!

Sakura awoke to the sounds of birds, which was surprising. Usually the only birds you would find at Osaka in the early morning were pigeons, or worse crows. Either way it was a nice way to begin a new life. She got out of her bunk bed and stood to take in her new surroundings. The Akatsuki had been renting an apartment in Osaka, since they didn't want to go back to their hometown. She was actually quite surprised that they could get a decent place, it had two bedrooms, a living room area with a small kitchenette area linked to it, and two bathrooms. One room had bunk beds while the other had two small beds. Tobi insisted on sleeping on the futon since he would always watch horror movies to put him to sleep, heaven knows why. But, I guess Tobi is a strange… boy? She didn't mean that in a mean way, but it was just kinda hard to tell whether he was a boy or a girl sometimes. I mean, he liked girl stuff like makeup, Barbies, stuffed animals, and most importantly Justin Bieber. On the other hand, he liked monster trucks, explosions, horror movies, and raunchy jokes.

'Tobi's just a mystery.' She shrugged and went to the kitchen and made omelets for everyone. After they all finally came to get their food, the teens went to the lobby, picked the lock to the basement, and decided to jam out.

The basement was quite spacious considering it was supposed to be used for storage, but it seemed like nobody ever bothered to come down there. Sakura didn't mind though and understood why they wouldn't. It was creepy beyond belief! Have you ever seen a scary movie where there is a concrete floor and cobwebs all over the place when you went into the basement? Well, it was exactly like that.

"Okay. I will not rehearse down here! It's friggin creepy as heck!" Sakura said while trying to avoid the cobweb that was too close for comfort.

"Sakura stop being a little baby." Sasori mocked while petting her head.

"Oh, shut up! I am just as much of a badass as you are!" She retaliated.

"Then c'mon!" He said as he pulled her further down the stairs that led to the basement, causing her to get hit in the face by a cobweb.

"Eeep! God, how do you handle all this Hidan?" Sakura asked over her shoulder. All she could see was a quivering Hidan hiding behind a rather annoyed Kisame, and Sakura guessed that this happened every time they went to the basement.

"T-t-t-that's Jashin to y-you." Hidan chattered.

"Psh. Why would I listen to a scaredy cat like you? I bet Jashin's laughing at you right now." Sakura then attempted to make a man's laugh, soon everyone was laughing. Hidan then began to scream like a little girl because he "saw" a spider the size of Godzilla. Psh, what a big baby!

The rest of the day was spent trying to teach Sakura how to play the guitar (which ended horribly), teaching her scales, debating over whether to involve Jashin and a field of daffodils in a song, and some good old fashioned arguing. When I say good old fashioned, I mean making threats and throwing random items at each other just for fun. But, it got late and the group had encountered Spiderzilla, as Hidan dubbed it, and every screamed bloody murder. While trying to get up the stairs, they had all managed to lock Hidan in the basement on "accident". It wasn't Kisame's fault that he had slammed the door closed and locked it with the basement key before Hidan could get out. Nope, not on purpose at all ;). Eventually, they released Hidan from his nightmare and immediately ran to his bed, so everyone decided that they would get some take out and go to sleep.

"Damn, need to take a piss." Sasori groggily slurred as he got out of his warm relaxing bed. As he was awakening from his sleep-induced state, he never noticed that his bunkmate wasn't in bed. But upon return, he looked at the empty bunk.

'Where did she go?' He thought still trying to shake off the creeping desire to just rest. Sasori began to wander the apartment and still couldn't find a sign of her. A feeling of dread washed over him, and he raced downstairs to the lobby. His heart began to race until he heard the baby grand piano in the lobby play a distant lullaby. The teen slowly made his way to the relaxing sound and found Sakura playing the sleek black and white piano. Even though he couldn't see her face, he could tell she was in pain by the way the piano melody seemed to be crying out for something lost. He couldn't understand why she was playing a piano at 3 A.M., but she suddenly started singing and it all became clear. This song was clearly for Gaara. (If you want to know the song it is Miserable At Best by Mayday Parade, but I altered the words in order for the song to make more sense.)

_Baby, don't cry, I know_

_You're trying your hardest_

_And the hardest part is letting go_

_Of the nights we shared_

_Osaka is calling and you know it's haunting_

_But compared to your eyes, nothing shines quite as bright_

_And when we look to the sky, it's not mine, but I want it so_

_Let's not pretend like you're alone tonight_

_(I know she's there and)_

_You're probably hanging out and making eyes_

_(While across the room, she stares)_

_I'll bet you get the nerve to walk the floor_

_And ask that girl to dance, and she'll say yes_

_Because these words were never easier for me to say_

_Or him to second-guess_

_But I guess_

_That I can live without you but_

_Without you I'll be miserable at best_

_You're all that I hoped I'd find_

_In every single way_

_And everything I could give_

_Is everything you couldn't take_

_Cause nothing feels like home, you're a thousand miles away_

_And the hardest part of living_

_Is just taking breaths to stay_

_Because I know I'm good for something_

_I just haven't found it yet_

_But I need it_

_So let's not pretend like you're alone tonight_

_(I know she's there and)_

_You're probably hanging out and making eyes_

_(While across the room, she stares)_

_I'll bet you get the nerve to walk the floor_

_And ask that girl to dance, and she'll say yes_

_Because these words were never easier for me to say_

_Or him to second-guess_

_But I guess_

_That I can live without you but_

_Without you I'll be miserable at best_

_Ladada ladada ladadaoh ohhh_

_And this will be the first time in a week_

_That I'll talk to you_

_And I can't speak_

_It's been three whole days since I've had sleep_

_Because I dream of her lips on your cheek_

_And I got the point that I should leave you alone_

_But we both know that I'm not that strong_

_And I miss the lips that made me fly_

_So let's not pretend like you're alone tonight_

_(I know she's there and)_

_You're probably hanging out and making eyes_

_(While across the room, she stares)_

_I'll bet you get the nerve to walk the floor_

_And ask that girl to dance, and she'll say yes_

_Because these words were never easier for me to say_

_Or him to second-guess_

_But I guess_

_That I can live without you but_

_Without you I'll be miserable_

_And I can live without you_

_But without you I'll be miserable_

_And I can live without you_

_Oh, without you I'll be miserable at best_

Tears were streaming down her porcelain like face, but she didn't show any other emotion. She kept a straight face. Sakura knew that she should be showing something more, but the pain was too great she couldn't even register what was happening. Until she felt strong masculine arms wrap around her shoulders and enclose her slender neck in a protective hold.

"Sasori?" She was surprised he was up so late.

"Don't turn around." Sasori quietly whispered as he too began to cry. He started to cry right when she began to sing. All that pure, raw, emotional energy was exerted through her angelic voice, and he just couldn't fathom the pain she was in.

"Sasori, are you crying?" He then opened his eyes to see that she had managed to escape his hold on her.

"Don't concern yourself with me, just sing me another song." He gently demanded as he took a seat next to her on the piano bench. Through the brief silence a tender sigh was exhaled and what followed was just pure bliss for him. (My Heart Is Broken by Evanescence)

_I will wander 'til the end of time, torn away from you._

_I pulled away to face the pain._

_I close my eyes and drift away._

_Over the fear that I will never find_

_A way to heal my soul._

_And I will wander 'til the end of time_

_Torn away from you._

_My heart is broken_

_Sweet sleep, my dark angel_

_Deliver us from sorrow's hold_

_(Over my heart)._

_I can't go on living this way_

_But I can't go back the way I came_

_Chained to this fear that I will never find_

_A way to heal my soul_

_And I will wander 'til the end of time_

_Half alive without you_

_My heart is broken_

_Sweet sleep, my dark angel_

_Deliver us_

_Change - open your eyes to the light_

_I denied it all so long, oh so long_

_Say goodbye, goodbye_

_My heart is broken_

_Release me, I can't hold on_

_Deliver us_

_My heart is broken_

_Sweet sleep, my dark angel_

_Deliver us_

_My heart is broken_

_Sweet sleep, my dark angel_

_Deliver us from sorrow's hold_

The piano echoed in the empty room. Sasori was stunned. Even though only a piano was playing, he could hear other instruments that could harmonize with the delicate piano so perfectly. And Sakura's voice was on a whole different level. It was so passionate, it had so many different types of ranges to change between, and it was just so pure. Her lyrics showed you exactly what was happening within her. It maintained her innocence but had an in your face feeling to it, but it also showed her in the raw.

"Sakura." He slowly said.

"What?" Sakura asked nervously. She knew he hated it, she just knew.

"Make sure you write that down, both songs, before you go to bed." Sasori gave her a small smile and returned upstairs, leaving a grinning Sakura sitting there in the dimly lit room.

* * *

><p><em><span>With Gaara<span>_

The whole scene replayed constantly in Gaara's mind, and he couldn't believe how incredibly stupid he was. He took her love for granted and knew she was bound to move on sooner or later, hopefully later. If it was later, then there was a chance that he could win her back, but he knew what it was like seeing your hopes get crushed. This was the debate that had been occurring recently with him, whether to search for her or give up before it got worse. It didn't help that Shukaku had left him when he needed the annoying devil there than ever. Honestly, he hadn't slept in god knows how long. All he could ever do was think of Sakura and pray she was alright. First thing in the morning, he would go to see her best friends, Hinata and Ino, even though he knew that they may murder him. No matter what, he needed to figure out where his love had gone to, and he didn't care the cost. Slowly, he drifted to slumber only to be woken up by his recurring nightmares.


	16. The Search

**None of the characters, or songs, are mine! They belong to Masashi Kishimoto and their rightful artists! **Reviews & suggestions are greatly accepted!

"Hello! Yamanaka residen- Oh, it's you." Ino had opened the door politely and cheerfully, but her mood turned sour once she saw who was at her doorstep. None other than the douche who ruined Sakura's life and consequently everyone else's. Hinata hadn't come to school ever since Sakura left, Ino spent most of her time trying to figure out where Sakura had gone, Shikamaru & Temari were never around anymore, Kankuro & Konan broke up since Sakura was supposed to be helping them work out their arguments, Kiba & Naruto started getting detentions more frequently, Neji & Ten-Ten were getting mad over trivial things, and Sasuke was hiring the best men to find any information as to where Sakura had gone to. Everyone was suffering in his or her own ways all because of the one man standing on her doorstep.

"How dare you show your face around here." She dangerously sneered. "What do you want from me, you heartless low life?"

Ino's glare actually sent shivers down Gaara's spine, and that took a lot of malice to do.

"I want to find Sakura." He simply said.

"Ohhhh no! You don't get to come around here asking for my help when you were the selfish prick who chased her off, and over what? Some prissy little girl who never even kept in contact with you after you moved? Wow, what a great best friend. Honestly, you expect Sakura to just forgive you after all the shit you put her through? I mean come on!" She ranted and raved for at least a solid minute.

In Gaara's eyes, she was being way too generous. He deserved worse than harsh words. Hell, he deserved the death sentence for breaking a fragile girl like Sakura.

"Look." He cut her off before she could say anything else. "I know what I did was terrible."

"More like idiotic, horrid, douchey, and despicable." Ino interrupted.

"But, I want to explain to her everything."

"Oh please, she knew exactly what was going through your tiny brain." She added while poking him on the forehead. "She told me that she understood why you wanted to hang out with her, I mean Matsuri is a close friend of yours. But, she saw that you guys had a connection that she could never come between or even get close to, for that matter. She was suffering everyday, but you never saw that did you?" Ino snidely added.

Gaara took a few moments to think. He never did ask Sakura how she felt, or even spend time with her. Actually, he had basically thrown her into the trash like an old broken toy. His stomach twisted in knots.

"God, what have I done?" He sank down to his knees staring up at the sky, as if some magical being would come down and give him all the answers. Ino could see that he was actually regretting the way he acted and decided to spare him mercy.

"I guess I'll help you." She caved. "But, if you mess anything up, I will have your head. Ugh, lemme go call Hinata. I'm gunna need someone to restrain me whenever you make me wanna cut you." The blonde motioned for him to come inside. Gaara made a mental note never to get in Ino's way.

* * *

><p><em><span>With Akatsuki<span>_

Up in the apartment, all the members were sitting around the dining table or sitting on the couch discussing their next song. The band already had three songs, Miserable At Best, My Heart Is Broken, and Love The Way You Lie with Tobi rapping. He was actually quite good at it. But, they needed a happier song, definitely a song that makes someone just wanna get up and dance their butt's off. Unfortunately, the Akatsuki members weren't very good at happy and every idea that was thrown out was dismissed after some discussion.

"Jashin! Why is this so damn hard!" Hidan bashed his head against the table, causing a small crack.

"Well, what kinda concepts do you want in the song?" Sakura asked.

"It definitely has to do with Jashin! Or else it's out the fucking window!" Hidan raged proudly.

"It would be cool if it had a message to it." Kisame added in.

"Not to judge." Itachi seamlessly added in.

"Or else you're gunna get hurt, un!" Deidara built on the idea.

"And it has to have a shiny thing in it! Most definitely~" Tobi immediately jumped on the band wagon.

"All those idea's don't even go together!" Sasori rubbed his temples. He was definitely getting irritated.

"Well, wait a minute we might be onto something." Sakura calmly said. Almost out of thin air, a light bulb sprung above her head.

"What the fuck? Did anyone else see that?" Sasori yelled while pointing above Sakura's head, basically pointing at nothing.

"He's finally snapped." Itachi said while sipping his iced tea.

"Restrain the crazy man!" Deidara tackled Sasori to the ground, while everyone else dog piled on him. Miraculously, Itachi and Sakura weren't sucked into the crazy, so they began to compose the music.

"We have something." They both said, even though Sakura had a little more life in her voice.

"Come." Itachi said as he glided over to the door.

Soon, they had copies of the sheet music for each instrument, and were down I the basement getting ready to test out the new song. (Playing God by Paramore.)

_Can't make my own decisions_

_Or make any with precision_

_Well maybe you should tie me up_

_So I don't go where you don't want me_

_You say that I been changing_

_that I'm not just simply aging_

_Yeah how could that be logical?_

_Just keep on cramming ideas down my throat_

_You don't have to believe me_

_But the way I, way I see it_

_Next time you point a finger_

_I might have to bend it back_

_Or break it, break it off_

_Next time you point a finger_

_I'll point you to the mirror_

_If God's the game you're playing_

_Well we must get more acquainted_

_Because it has to be so lonely_

_To be the only one who's holy_

_It's just my humble opinion_

_But it's one that I believe in_

_You don't deserve a point of view_

_If the only thing you see is you_

_You don't have to believe me_

_But the way I, way I see it_

_Next time you point a finger_

_I might have to bend it back_

_Or break it, break it off_

_Next time you point a finger_

_I'll point you to the mirror_

_This is the last second chance_

_(I'll point you to the mirror)_

_I'm half as good as it gets_

_(I'll point you to the mirror)_

_I'm on both sides of the fence_

_(I'll point you to the mirror)_

_Without a hint of regret_

_I'll hold you to it_

_I know you don't believe me_

_But the way I, way I see it_

_Next time you point a finger_

_I might have to bend it back_

_Or break it, break it off_

_Next time you point a finger_

_I'll point you to the mirror_

_I know you won't believe me_

_But the way I, way I see it_

_Next time you point a finger_

_I might have to bend it back_

_Or break it, break it off_

_Next time you point a finger_

_I'll point you to the mirror_

…Silence…

A loud burst of cheers came from everybody.

"That was frickin amazing, yeah! What's the song name?" Deidara exclaimed, obviously thrilled.

"In honor of Hidan we're naming it, Playing Jashin." Sakura announced. Hidan began chanting Jashin's name while marching around the room.

"Wow Sakura, you've already helped give us four new songs." Pein said. "I'm quite impressed." He winked causing her to become flustered, and that caused Sasori to get angry.

"Oh no~ Sempai's angry!" Tobi gasped.

"Oooooo, someone's a little jealous." Kisame antagonized.

"Shut up! I am definitely not jealous of that thing!" He yelled while pointing at Sakura.

"Hey!" She defensively shouted.

"Me thinks he doth protest too much." Deidara began to tap his chin.

"Me thinks you better zip your mouth before I zip it for you." Sasori menacingly growled while holding up his fist, causing Deidara to "zip" his mouth shut. Itachi chuckled. All together, everyone turned their heads to look at the usually stoic man.

"What? Am I not allowed to laugh?" Itachi questioned.

Pein walked up to him and pat him on the shoulder, "I knew you had a sense of humor somewhere in there, and to celebrate we will be eating one of Sakura's home cooked meals."

Everyone cheered, until Sakura heard the last part.

"Wait, what?" Sakura screeched.

"C'mon please Sakura-chan." Tobi stared up at her and made a puppy dog eye.

"Awwww alright. But, I need to go to the market then." Sakura explained.

"Fine. We shall await your return." Pein kept a composed aura until he yelled, "First one to the apartment get's the biggest plate!" All the boys ran at lightning speed to reach the apartment.

* * *

><p><em><span>With Gaara and Ino<span>_

They had spent the past few hours trying to locate Sakura through any means they could think of: cell tracking, Googling her, asking everybody and anybody they knew. Yet, still nothing.

"God! This is totally taking forever!" Exhausted Ino threw her hands behind her head and balanced a pencil between her nose and upper lip. Gaara had to admit this wasn't as easy as he thought it would be.

'Sakura… Where are you?' Gaara stared out the window hoping a thought would occur, but nothing did. So, he decided he might as well have civil conversation with this female.

"Where's Hinata?" He glanced over at the blonde without moving a muscle.

Ino sighed, "She had to go on a business trip with her father, since he's a priest he had to look at a possible shrine for rent. Her dad is the kinda dad that goes for bigger and better, plus she's supposed to be his heir to the family shrine business. Meaning she's a miko in training. God, I can't believe her dad still believes in that stupid junk. I mean he acts like we live in the friggin feudal era or something." Ino ranted on and on about how lame the outfits were.

"Do you ever shut your huge mouth?" Gaara cracked his knuckles.

"Excuse you?" Ino shrieked completely offended. "If you don't remember, emo boy, I'm the one who's trying to help you fix YOUR stupid mistake!" She began to yell louder and she jabbed her finger into his chest.

"Chihuahua." He glared holes into her head.

"You fucki-!" In midsentence, Ino stopped and felt her phone vibrate.

"Hinata, you have to come back! I am seriously this close to cutting all of Gaara's hair off!" She said into the phone.

_ "Ino, please stop." Hinata quietly pleaded. "Look, I think I heard Sakura's voice."_

"Hinata stop. That's not funny, besides you've been "hearing" her everywhere recently. Your probably just tired, so just go to bed." Ino began to play medic.

_"Please, Ino, listen to me. It's real this time." Hinata began to softly cry._

Ino couldn't bear to hear her friend cry, and she had to get Hinata to just sleep. Recently, Hinata hadn't been able to sleep as well as she used to and the girl had heard Sakura's voice everywhere. The pinkette's leaving really took a toll on her.

"Look, get some rest and I swear I will listen to you when you feel refreshed." Ino practically demanded.

_"Well, alright." Hinata had finally gave in. "Goodnight, Ino-san."_

The line went dead. Ino and Gaara immediately started to research anything she could find about billboard brow, but in the end they couldn't find anything. At least three hours later, Hinata called once again.

_"Ino-san!" Hinata said in a normal voice for once. "I think I just saw Sakura-chan!"_

Ino put her on speaker and ushered Gaara to come closer to listen.

_"I had to go to the grocery store to get ingredients for dinner, and she was there! It was Sakura this time." Hinata said with less of a robotic tone than before._

"Are you serious? Hinata that's amazing you're inc-" The phone was snatched out of Ino's hand and immediately in Gaara's.

"Hinata, tell me where you are?" Gaara harshly demanded.

_"I'm in Osaka. My father needed to look at shrines and temples currently on the market. I'll text you my address, get over here as fast as you can." Hinata hung up._

A few seconds later, Ino's phone chimed indicating that there was a new message. Both of them read it and they both said in unison,

"Road trip." Although Ino was excited and ran to get three suitcases. This was going to be a long trip.

* * *

><p><em><span>With Akatsuki<span>_

Since the night had been spent celebrating Itachi's newfound humanity, almost everyone had been drinking. The only two people who didn't drink were Sakura and Sasori, and they decided to play a very fun game with everyone, truth or dare. Everyone who had been drinking was either completely wasted or just buzzed enough to go along with the game.

"Hm, we need some way to decide how to pick people." Sakura scrunched her eyebrows together in thought.

"Oooooh I know." Deidara slurred as he chugged the last of his beer and clunked the glass bottle on the table.

"Perfect! Alright, who want's to spin first?" Sakura didn't need to be answered.

"Tobi wants to!" Tobi lunged at the bottle and spun it sloppily. Too bad for Deidara, Tobi thought the game was spin the bottle, so he gave Deidara a big, wet, sloppy kiss.

"Blegh! Tobi what the hell! This is truth or dare not rape Deidara, yeah!" Deidara pointed his finger at Tobi and slurred almost every other word.

"Heehee, sorry sempai~ Lemme giff you anoter kiss!" Tobi tried to clutch onto Deidara's body.

"Someone spin it!" Deidara cried out while blocking Tobi with his foot.

Sakura immediately spun it, for fear of Deidara being raped in front of her.

"Pein, truth or dare?"

"Damnit, I'm not scarred of some schtupid dare!" Pein slammed his hand on the table.

"Fine, then I dare you to go next door and ask for a cup of sugar. But, you have to do it naked." Sakura's eyes mischievously glinted.

"Les go bro!" He triumphantly yelled, stood up, and immediately stripped. Sasori barely had enough time to cover Sakura's eyes. The rest of the teens eavesdropped behind the door, suddenly a loud cry echoed throughout the hall.

"HENTAI!" The old woman next door yelled.

"Ah, my eyes!" Pein cried and banged into the door. Sakura kindly let him in, and helped him find is seat.

"I'll get you, hoe." He menacingly glared at her with beet red eyes.

"That's only if you don't go blind." Sakura teased. Pein grumbled, felt around for the bottle, and spun.

"Itachi, truth or dare."

"Truth."

"Do you luuuuvvv your wittle brother?" Pein began making kissing noises. Suddenly, it was silent.

"Oh my god he does!" Kisame threw his hands on Sakura's shoulders. "You really are a miracle worker!" He began to hug her well it was more like strangle her, since he was so much taller than her. But, she knew it was meant to be a hug. When he released her to answer a question, she noticed Sasori chug a beer.

"Sasori I thought you were gunna stay sober with me." She pouted and crossed her arms.

"C'mon it won't do much. It's just one sheesh." Sasori rolled his eyes and finished his beer. Sakura wasn't sure how things would end up now that all the boys were drinking. Eventually, everyone had begun passing out. She put blankets on everyone and stepped out onto the balcony. Sakura liked the night breeze in Osaka to her it smelled like rain and jasmine. When she saw the bright lights, it reminded her of the fireflies back home and Gaara.

'No, I refuse to think of him.' Sakura shook her head trying to get the thoughts of the green-eyed man out of her head. 'He left me, and is very happy with Matsuri… She's perfect in every way…' She let a few silent tears fall down her face. Surprisingly, she felt a pair of arms encircle her waist and immediately looked up.

"Sasori? What are you doing?" She became flustered when he gently licked away her tears.

"Hmm, you shouldn't cry." He laid his head against the top of hers.

"Sasori, you're drunk aren't you? See, that one beer did make you whonky!" Sakura was about to lecture him on underage drinking, but decided his wicked hangover would be punishment enough.

"You're so cute, Sakura-chan." He purred her name, making her blush.

"Sasori, c'mon let's get you to bed." She tried to turn around, but he kept her tightly in place. "Sasori, c'mon." She struggled against his strong embrace, and finally found that, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't escape. She felt Sasori start to nibble at her neck.

"W-what are you doing?" Sakura quickly said. But, Sasori was obviously tuning her out, for he began to make a trail of kisses from her jawline down to her shoulder. Shivers went up Sakura's spine. She couldn't understand why Sasori was acting like this, she was both confused and disgusted. Confused at how he was acting, and disgusted at how much she liked what he was doing.

'Maybe it's cuz Gaara would always do this to me, or do I actually like Sasori… Curse teenage hormones!' She began debating in her head about where her heart was. But, she could feel Sasori's hand at the hem of her tank top as he slowly lifted it up using one finger.


	17. Decisions

**None of the characters, or songs, are mine! They belong to Masashi Kishimoto and their rightful artists! **Reviews & suggestions are greatly accepted!

A loud commotion awoke Pein.

"SHANNARO!" Then, a loud thump was heard on the other side of the balcony door. It slowly opened revealing a downcast Sakura.

"Sakura? What happened?" Pein slowly asked while clutching his throbbing head. But, she never answered, and she ran to her room. Struggling to stand, Pein slowly made his way over to the balcony and found a crumpled up form on the floor. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be Sasori gripping his very tender area and making high pitched moans of pure pain.

"What'd you do?" Pein sighed seating himself next to Sasori.

"Urrrrrgh…" Sasori's pain faded into silence.

"Fine. We will discuss this tomorrow, 9 A.M. sharp." Pein threw Sasori over his shoulder, threw him onto the couch, and exited to his room.

* * *

><p><em><span>In the Car (A.K.A. HELL!)<span>_

"Dobe, move over. Your fat ass is taking up the whole seat." Sasuke shoved Naruto away using one hand.

"Shut up, teme!" The blonde retaliated and swatted Sasuke's hand away. Soon enough they were hitting and yanking each other's hair.

"Knock it off or I swear I will turn this van around!" Temari yelled while glaring at the two boys causing her to swerve the large van. Both boys sat in silence, but kept elbowing each other.

"Yo, Yamanaka, what do I do next?" Temari asked over her shoulder.

"Umm…" Ino began to turn the map in every direction trying to figure out where the heck they were.

"Feh, women! Gimme that!" Kiba snatched the map out of the blonde's petite hands, but the quick-tempered boy had no better luck.

"Ha! In your face!" Ino triumphantly said while pointing a finger at him. Luckily, Kiba anticipated that and gently snatched her finger between his lips, which caused the blonde to blush 10 different shades of red.

"Stop teasing her you fuckin creep wad!" Konan smacked him in the back of the head.

"Kankuro, control your man!" Kiba groaned.

"EXCUSE YOU?" Konan roared trying to undo her seatbelt in a fit of rage. But, Kankuro caught her hand.

"It's alright." He gently smiled at her. Konan had missed the puppeteer so much recently, but her pride wouldn't let her give in. It only allowed her to swoon over him. Unfortunately, Naruto's kissing noises and Kiba's puking sounds ruined their movie like moment.

"Shut the fuck up!" Konan yelled.

"Ugh, troublesome people." Shikamaru groaned sliding deeper into his passenger seat.

"Agreed." Gaara said while looking out the window to notice the sun was rising and small drops of rain were beginning to come down. "How much longer?"

"Ummmm, maybe around an hour or so? What do you think Shikamaru?" Ino said handing over the map for it to be examined.

"That's about right but after finding Hinata and getting breakfast, I'd say around two hours maybe." Shikamaru began to explain.

"Can we get ramen?" Naruto giddily asked.

"NO!" Everyone yelled unanimously.

* * *

><p><em><span>Akatsuki Base<span>_

A light tapping was heard at Pein's door.

"Come in." Pein commanded.

Sasori stepped into his room and sat in a chair near the door.

"What happened last night? I demand an answer this time." Pein ordered while intensely glaring at Sasori.

"I think I…forced myself on her." He slowly said.

"You what?" Pein menacingly growled.

"I didn't make her do _that_, but I think I went a little too far. I overstepped the line." Sasori put his head in his hands replaying last night.

"What do you plan on doing about it?" Pein questioned.

"Obviously, apologize, but I don't know what else to do." Sasori met his leader's gaze.

"How strong do you feel for this girl?" Pein began to lean back on the bed railing he was precariously sitting on.

"I don't know, I mean more than a friend but not love." Sasori began contemplating more to himself than to Pein.

"Then, woo her." Pein ultimately decided.

"What?" Sasori didn't understand what he was trying to say.

"Ask Deidara for advice. Now leave, I need to make a few phone calls." Pein pointed towards the door, and Sasori made a swift exit. Not knowing what to do, or what Pein was talking about, he decided to seek out Deidara. He eventually found him lounging at the table with a few others playing a very serious game of poker. Of course, Itachi was winning.

"Royal Flush." Itachi laid down his hand.

"I demand a recount!" Deidara smashed his fist on the table.

"Just face it girly, he's the best at poker." Kisame said throwing down his cards.

"Shut up fish face! Just cuz I care about my hair, unlike you, doesn't make me a girl, un!" Deidara accusingly pointed a finger at Kisame.

"Sempai~ please calm down! Tobi will make you a cake." Tobi cheered throwing his small arms up.

"Shut it small fry!" Deidara shouted. Sasori had had enough and cleared his throat. When he got Deidara's attention, Sasori motioned for the blonde boy to follow him down-stairs.

After a quiet elevator ride down to the first floor, both boys went to the mini café nearby the apartment complex. It was a small place, but even so it was very popular. Most people only did take out, so there was ample seating. Sasori led Deidara to a booth in the back corner, so they could talk in private.

"So, what do you want, yeah?" Deidara asked while browsing over the menu.

"Advice." Sasori simply said.

"On what, un?" Deidara face was still hidden behind the menu.

"Sakura. I think I like her, maybe..ish." Sasori slightly bit the corner of his lip out of pure embarrassment. Deidara lowered his menu, and on his face was a smirk. It wasn't just any smirk either, it was the smug 'Oh really?' smirk.

"Oh ho ho ho. My, my,my our dear Sasori has a thing for Sakura- chan, yeah?" Deidara dragged out the last sentence for effect.

"Shut up. I don't even think she's over that pest." Sasori referred to Gaara.

"But, he dumped her, remember? All you need to do is get her to forget about him, un." Deidara smirked.

"How the hell am I supposed to do that?" He knitted his eyebrows together in frustration.

"Well, remember all those songs she wrote?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

"Well, they all pertained to her feelings for that douche, un. So, we just gotta get her to write all her feelings out, BOOM! She's yours, un." Deidara simply put.

"Maybe you're useful after all." Sasori smirked.

After their discussion, they ate and ran without paying. When they made it back to the apartment, Sasori came face to face with Sakura as she opened the door. Sakura blushed crimson.

"Oh, uh, hi guys. I was just going to get some stuff from the market, do you need anything?" Sakura looked between both boys.

"Pocky! Not the disgusting chocolate ones either!" Deidara demanded.

"So, strawberry it is, as usual." Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Sakura, I'm sorry about yesterday I-"

"Save it, Sasori. I'm not mad, I understand completely." She smiled up at him, but her eyes held pain and sorrow.

"And I know you still have feelings for him." Sasori forced himself to smile.

"I'm sorry." Sakura looked down at her feet and rushed past them.

"BAKA!" Deidara punched Sasori in the head, causing Sasori to become extremely angry, both with himself and Deidara.

* * *

><p><em><span>Sakura<span>_

She slowly exhaled, trying to get rid of all her inhibitions. It wasn't her fault she was still attached to Gaara, I mean who could blame her? He was her first love, her first everything. But, it wasn't fair to still be in love with Gaara and lead Sasori on. She knew how Sasori felt, and she knew how he kept creeping into her mind every once in a while. Half of her was falling for Sasori, but the other half still needed and wanted Gaara.

'God! How fucked up can I get?' Sakura sighed and ran a hand through her now wet hair. In a frantic rush, she realized she forget to bring an umbrella. She dashed to the closest market, but on her way over she noticed a shrine with a banner that read,

'Come to seek spiritual blessings!'

"Huh, that sounds nice. Maybe, I'll be blessed with a decision and shelter from this rain." Sakura thought aloud and started to climb the steps. After she was finished, she turned and came face to face with the one person she didn't expect.

Gaara


End file.
